


my fox

by Dawnlightsilhouette



Series: my fox [1]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Bathtub Sex, Bathtubs, Bottom Ciel Phantomhive, Boys Kissing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Forest Sex, Forests, Fox Hybrid, Human Sebastian Michaelis, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Painter Sebastian, Pet Names, Top Sebastian, fox Ciel, loss of memories, mentions of angsty past, side grelliam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 60,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23655823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnlightsilhouette/pseuds/Dawnlightsilhouette
Summary: Sebastian is a painter who lives in a Cottage in the forest. One day an adorable foxlike creature stepped into his life and as he took care of him, Sebastian found himself falling in love.
Relationships: Sebastian Michaelis & Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis/Ciel Phantomhive
Series: my fox [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1960537
Comments: 41
Kudos: 254





	1. first meeting

Sebastian had moved into a small cottage in the middle of the forest, not too far from a small town. He wanted to use the peace and quiet to paint. He had already painted several pictures of the nature around him and to have some variety, he had decided to paint still lifes.

However, there was a problem, as Sebastian found out after a short time. If he left something on his porch, it might disappear as soon as he was distracted. It almost always happened when he left something edible outside. It started with a few grapes. He had put them on a nice plate on the table, then went inside to get a bottle of wine he wanted to put next to them, and when he came back the plate was empty. The same thing happened to him later with several pieces of cakes, some apples, a plate full of macarons and some chocolate.

Sebastian wasn't left unbothered by the thief today either, but this time he had been waiting for it. He finally wanted to know who or what he was involuntarily feeding, so he had baked chocolate chip cookies and put half of them on a plate and put the plate on the porch. When he checked an hour later, the plate was empty. Sebastian smirked, when he found there wasn't even a crumb left. His guest seemed to be very hungry.

Sebastian got his easel, a blank canvas, paints, brushes and a hand mirror and placed everything on the veranda. He adjusted his chair so that he was sitting with his back to the table and attached the mirror to his easel so that he could look over his shoulder. Finally he got the rest of the cookies and put them on the table, like the first half. Then he sat down and started drawing, always looking in the mirror.

His curiosity soon was satisfied. A pair of bluish-gray fox ears appeared in the edge of the mirror. Delighted that his plan was working, Sebastian watched how the creature cautiously crept onto the porch. To his surprise, he found that the fluffy ears belonged to a boy who almost looked like a human, if it weren't for the ears and a matching fluffy foxtail. His messy hair and tail were the same color as the ears, only the tail had a white tip. The boy was skinny and only wore a shirt that was much too large for him, which might have been gray originally, but was now covered with dirt and grass stains so much that you couldn't see the colour.

The fox creature carefullly crept closer and looked uncertainly at Sebastian, who pretended not to notice his company. Fascinated, he watched him in the mirror. When the boy came closer, Sebastian could see that he was incredibly beautiful. His skin looked like fine porcelain, he had long dark eyelashes, the hair looked soft and covered the right side of his face, the left eye was a beautiful sapphire blue. The fox looked at the cookies, then back at Sebastian and then back at the cookies. He chewed nervously on his lower lip, but after making sure that Sebastian was facing away from him, he crept to the table and reached for the sweets.

With the fox distracted, Sebastian turned to get a better look at him. The little one was cute, there was no better word to describe him, just cute. His tail twitched excitedly as he put biscuits in his mouth and tried to carry the rest of them all at once. One of them fell to the floor and it rolled up to Sebastian's feet. The boy looked behind him and noticed that Sebastian had turned around. Frightened, he dropped the rest of the cookies.

He wanted to run away but Sebastian jumped up and grabbed him. The fox immediately started hissing and scratching, trashing in Sebastian's arms, but Sebastian was too strong for him. "Don't worry, little one, I don't want to hurt you", Sebastian said, lifting one of the cookies with his free hand and holding it directly in front of the boy's cute face. He froze and looked at Sebastian in confusion. "Take it", Sebastian said with a smile, "I don't mind and skinny as you are, you seem to need it." The fox continued to look at Sebastian questioningly, then he snatched the biscuit from Sebastian's hand, his teeth brushing his fingers and quickly slipped out of Sebastian's arm.

He ran to the edge of the forest a few meters from Sebastian's veranda and hid behind a tree there. He peeked out from behind the tree to see what Sebastian was doing and quickly hid again when he made eye contact with him, but after a moment he watched him again.

Sebastian smiled as he watched the fox's shy behavior. He knelt down and picked up the rest of the cookies, then sat on the edge of the porch, hoping that he could attract the creature again. The boy moved cautiously away from the tree when he saw Sebastian holding out a cookie. He was still a little unsure, but when Sebastian talked to him soothingly, he slowly came closer. Finally, he was close enough to snap the sweet out of Sebastian's hand, which he did before he ran away.

Sebastian held out the next cookie to him and this time the fox came to him a little faster, but didn't dare yet to stay close to Sebastian while he was eating. He did that with the next cookie, and he ate the next one after that right out of Sebastian's hand. He had dropped himself on his hands and knees and was slowly crawling closer. His tail twitched as Sebastian fed him cookies. Sebastian was sure he had never seen anything so cute. He carefully stroked the boy's hair and ears with his free hand, both of which were even fluffier than he had imagined.

"What an adorable beauty you are. Can you speak? Or understand me? “, Sebastian wanted to know, but he didn't get an answer, which he considered a no. After a short while the plate was empty and the fox clawed disappointedly at Sebastian's shirt. "I'm sorry, I have no more. I have to bake new ones first”, Sebastian explained and scratched the boy behind the ears. The fox rubbed his head on Sebastian's hand, then sat up to kneel in front of Sebastian and took Sebastian's arm in both hands. He nibbled and licked his fingers for a while, then pressed his cheek into Sebastian's palm and closed his eyes relaxed.

So much cuteness made Sebastian melt. He ran his thumb over the boy's cheek and watched his tail twitch back and forth. Sebastian thought. The cute creature in front of him wasn't half as strong as himself and didn't look as if he had any diseases, so it didn't seem like a risk if he brought him into his cottage. The poor thing had to be terribly hungry and lonely too, considering the way he nuzzled his hand. Sebastian found no reason not to let the fox in to give him more food.

Sebastian got up and the fox looked disappointed when Sebastian's hand moved away from him. But when Sebastian leaned down and lifted him into his arms, he snuggled up to him and let himself be carried into the cottage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at a story with more chapters, I don't know how many there are gonna be, probably not that many. This story will mostly consist of fluff but I'm also planning to add some smut. I'm inexperienced at writing and english isn't my native language, so please excuse my messy writing style. (I'm very anxious about my writing so every Review helps)


	2. grooming

Exhausted but happy, Sebastian wrapped a blanket around the fox, who had curled up on his sofa and fell asleep there, at the end of the day. The little one was a trying company, but made up for it with his cuteness.

After Sebastian brought him in, he had searched his kitchen for something to eat, which turned out to be a bit difficult since his guest had no patience at all. The fox climbed on Sebastian and tried to grab everything he took in hand. At some point Sebastian had just started carrying the fox in one arm while he was preparing something with the other.

After dinner, the boy had started exploring Sebastian's cottage. He had inspected every room and climbed over and under furniture. Sebastian had followed him and plucked him from his furniture again and again, worried that the fox could get injured. At some point the two had settled on the sofa and while Sebastian had googled on his cell phone, what foxes could eat without problems and what they couldn't, the little one fell asleep.

After Sebastian had covered him with the blanket, he went to his bedroom and dropped onto his bed. After a short time he fell asleep and slept through until the next morning. He woke up from something tickling his face. While still half asleep, he turned away from the cause of his disturbance, but that didn't help, on the contrary, now something tugged on his hair. Sebastian finally opened his eyes and immediately a smile spread over his face. The little fox had lay down next to him and sniffed Sebastian's face. With one hand he played with Sebastian's hair, combed his fingers through and tugged lightly on individual strands.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around the fox's waist and pulled him close. "I could get used to waking up like this", he murmured, running a hand over his fox's ears. He gazed at the boy, who made sweet noises under his touch. "You have a beautiful eye color. Like the sky at night.” Sebastian thought aloud, looking at the fox's left eye. He straightened up and pulled him onto his lap. "Ciel. I'll call you Ciel, that's French for heaven or sky. What do you think about that?”, asked Sebastian, stroking Ciel's hair from his face. He noticed that Ciel's eyes were mismatched. The right eye, which until now had been covered by his hair, was cloudy and looked almost purple and apparently it was blind. "Oh. Well, Ciel suits you anyway.”, Sebastian told the fox.

They stayed in bed a bit longer, Sebastian kept stroking Ciel's hair and Ciel closed his eyes relaxed. His hair was soft but disheveled and the longer Sebastian stroked through it, the more small pieces of moss or dirt he found in it, with the tail it was the same. Sebastian understood that if you lived in the forest you had limited options to keep yourself clean, but that didn't mean he didn't want to change Ciel's current status of cleanliness. So Sebastian lifted Ciel up and carried him to the bathroom, where he ran a warm bath.

He helped Ciel out of his soiled T-shirt and threw it in the laundry, then rolled up his sleeves and lifted him into the tub. Ciel was startled when he found himself in the water. He wanted to climb out again, but Sebastian was holding him in one arm as he reached for his shampoo with the other. Ciel pressed himself against Sebastian and fidgeted, he tried to get up, but he slipped, fell into the water and pulled Sebastian with him. When Sebastian straightened up, his wet hair was sticking to his face and he couldn't see anything until he had brushed off each strand individually. Holding his hair aside, Sebastian looked down at Ciel and sighed.

Ciel completely ignored Sebastian's annoyance. He pulled his knees closer, pouted and flattened his ears, his tail whipped around in the water and splashed drops of water through the air. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "No need to start sulking right away", he explained to the pouting fox, wiping water from his face. He took the shower head and held it over Ciel's head so his hair and ears got wet. Ciel hissed and hit the shower head, but the only thing he accomplished by that was to spray Sebastian even wetter.

Sebastian turned off the tap and took off his soaked shirt. "You're a real drama queen, do you know that?", he hissed at Ciel, "No need to get fussy just because of a little bit of wetness." Ciel lowered his head and made a whining sound. He put his arms and tail around himself and mewled. Sebastian felt sorry immediately.

He gently stroked Ciel's head. "I didn't mean it like that", he explained, "Nor did I mean to scare you." Ciel leaned into the touch and made heartbreaking puppy eyes at Sebastian. Sebastian had to sigh again. "Well, let's do it differently. Move aside a bit.”, he said, undressed himself and climbed into the tub with Ciel. The fox immediately snuggled up to Sebastian's chest and held on to him, which made Sebastian smile.

Sebastian started to soap Ciel's hair and made sure that he didn't pull any hairs and that Ciel didn't get foam in his eyes. Then he rinsed the shampoo out again and repeated the procedure with Ciel's tail. Ciel had a pouting face the entire time, but he no longer fought back against the bath but let Sebastian do what he wanted. He relaxed somewhat over time, much to Sebastian's relief.

Finally Sebastian lifted him out of the tub and dried him. He put on his bathrobe and wrapped Ciel in a large towel, then brushed Ciel's tail and hair and blow-dried both, with Ciel scratching him a little at the sudden noise. Afterwards, Ciel's tail was completely puffed up and fluffier than before. Sebastian couldn't resist taking a picture with his cell phone. Finally he took the towel off Ciel and instead put him in one of his white shirts that Ciel almost covered his knees.

Sebastian put the fox on his bed and dried his own hair before putting on fresh clothes. When he got back to the bedroom he found that Ciel had nodded off. He had layed down on his right side, bent his legs slightly and laid his tail elegantly over them, he had bent one arm and rested his head on it, the other arm was stretched out a little, his fingers clawed at the covers. The burgundy of the bedding and the blue-gray of his fur made a wonderful contrast to his alabaster skin and the morning sun hit him perfectly. Sebastian immediately took another picture, then got a chair and a sketch pad and started drawing Ciel.


	3. startled

The next few days passed in a similar way to the first two. Ciel barely left Sebastian's side and Sebastian took care of him. He had picked up the habit of carrying Ciel around on one arm, especially when he was cooking, and Ciel seemed to like it. He snuggled up to him every time and made pleased noises. In general, the little fox was very cuddly. He often sat on Sebastian's lap and started sleeping in Sebastian's bed, much to Sebastian's delight. Pretty much anything Ciel did, made him happy, the fox had grown to his heart in no time and was just overly cute. Even if he chewed Sebastian's fingers again, he was so adorable that Sebastian could just melt away. Sebastian's attention was with his fluffy roommate almost all the time, but he also took the time, mostly while Ciel was napping, to continue working on his pictures. He had already made a number of sketches of Ciel and now he was painting the first of them with acrylic paints.

"Done!", Sebastian said and took a step back to look at his artwork. He recreated the sleeping Ciel in acrylic and had managed the colors perfectly. Grinning proudly, he wiped his hands on a rag and looked around for his model. "Hey, Ciel, look, I've finished the picture of you", he said, walking through the cottage to try and find Ciel and show it to him. "Ciel, where are you?" He called when he couldn't find him in the living room, the kitchen or the bedroom. He ran through the rest of the rooms, even looking in the attic, but Ciel was nowhere to be found.

Sebastian slowly panicked. The fox couldn't have just vanished into thin air. He was always close to Sebastian, so why not now? When Sebastian came back into the living room he noticed that the door to the veranda was a crack open. He sighed in relief, Ciel had probably gone outside to lie in the sun for a bit, as he often did. But Sebastian was wrong with this assumption. When he got outside, Ciel was nowhere to be seen. In his worry, Sebastian ran around the whole house and finally to the place where Ciel had hidden behind the tree when they first met, but the fox wasn't there either.

Breathless, Sebastian stopped there and stared into the forest. He sank against the tree and buried his face in his hands. Could it be that Ciel had run away again? That he would rather live in the forest again? But so far he had liked Sebastian, he had followed him around all the time, had slept in his arms, why should he suddenly not want this anymore? Sebastian bit his lip. Maybe he had done something that bothered Ciel. Perhaps he had given him too little attention. Sebastian tried to calm down, but the thought that Ciel might not want to have anything to do with him hurt his heart.

Suddenly Sebastian heard the rustling of leaves. He looked up and relief flowed through his body. He jumped up immediately. "Ciel!" He cried with joy and stretched out his arms. The little fox came out of the forest and jumped into Sebastian's embrace without hesitation. He was wet and a bit disheveled, had a dead fish in his mouth, and looked a little confused by Sebastian's behavior, but he nestled against him as trustingly as usual. "I was worried", Sebastian murmured into Ciel's hair as he carried him inside.

Once inside, Ciel gave Sebastian the fish he had caught and Sebastian immediately started cooking something out of it. He skinned and removed the bones of the fish while Ciel watched him. When Sebastian was looking for side dishes, he noticed that his supplies had shrunk significantly. Since he was now feeding two people, his meal planning had been mixed up and he urgently needed to go shopping again. Sebastian put the fish in the fridge, then got his shoes and keys and a few bags. He kissed Ciel on the forehead and promised to come back soon, then got into the car and started driving.

He drove to the nearby small town and rummaged through the supermarket for everything that Ciel would like. The little one had a sweet tooth, he loved cake and chocolate, and Sebastian had had to get used to locking up all sweets, since Ciel was all too good at finding them anywhere. When Sebastian had everything he needed, and some stuff that he actually didn't need, he drove home, cheerful and thinking of Ciel. He was going to bake something sweet for the fox again today, that would make him happy.

When Sebastian carried his groceries into the house and called for Ciel, to his surprise it only took a few seconds, when he already had him in his arms. "Did you miss me?" Sebastian asked cheerfully, but his smile disappeared as soon as he took a closer look at the fox. Ciel clung to Sebastian as if his life depended on it, he trembled slightly, his tail whipped back and forth and his ears were flattened. He was visibly excited and made mewling noises.

Alarmed Sebastian examined Ciel, but he could not find any wound or the like. So he hugged the fox and stroked his hair and ears soothingly. "It's ok. I'm there. Everything's fine.”, He whispered to him, which seemed to work, because Ciel gradually relaxed. Sebastian picked him up in one arm, took his shopping bags with the other, and carried both to the kitchen. He put the bags down and looked around the house. Some items had been knocked over and a few pieces of furniture had been scratched, a sofa cushion had been torn open, and the contents of a packet of tissues were spread out on the floor. It looked like someone had left a cat alone for too long, which then caused chaos out of frustration, only that it wasn't a cat but a fox.

"Oh", Sebastian said as he realized what had happened. Ciel had felt lonely and abandoned, which was why he was so excited. He hadn't understood why Sebastian had left, just as Sebastian hadn't understood why Ciel had left a few hours earlier. "I'm so sorry, little one. I wasn't thinking properly. Next time I'll take you with me when I go shopping, then you don't have to stay alone.”, Sebastian told Ciel. He sat down on the sofa and lifted Ciel onto his lap, holding him in his arms and resting his chin on his head. Ciel snuggled up to him and gave a kind of purr. Sebastian had to laugh. Apparently the two of them could no longer be without each other.


	4. rainy day

Ciel eyed the vacuum cleaner curiously from his place under the table. His tail flicked from side to side and both the healthy and the blind eye watched every movement of the device. He didn't seem to have made a decision yet about whether he found it creepy or interesting. Sebastian had to grin.

It was a rainy day and Ciel had spent most of the morning chasing the raindrops running along the window and sticking his hand out of the window to play with the wet leaves of the climbing plants on Sebastian's house wall. In the end he got bored of it, so he came to Sebastian, who had just gotten the vacuum cleaner at the time, and now he was watching Sebastian clean from a safe distance.

Sebastian walked around the living room with the device, keeping an eye on Ciel to see if the loud noise frightened the fox, but when it didn't seem like it, he dared to get closer to Ciel's hiding place. When he passed the table, Ciel's hand shot out from under it, playfully slapped the vacuum cleaner, and disappeared again. Sebastian burst out laughing and switched off the device. He dropped to his knees and peeked under the table. Ciel looked at him with wide eyes, then jumped at Sebastian and knocked him over with the sudden force, so Sebastian layed on his back on the floor, laughing again and Ciel on his chest.

Sebastian scratched his fox behind the ears and pressed his nose into the blue-gray hair. Ciel was far too cute to be angry with him, even thoughthe back of Sebastian's head hurt from the impact on the floor.

Ciel was chewing Sebastian's shirt collar when the phone suddenly rang. In his surprise the fox tore open the fabric with his teeth. He sat up and pricked up his ears to find out where the noise came from. Sebastian sighed and straightened up too. He got up, put the fox under one arm, and took the phone off the table with his free hand. A look at the display immediately revealed to Sebastian who bothered him. Sebastian rolled his eyes and pressed the green button.

"Hello, William", he said. "Sebastian", Will said at the other end of the line, "How are your pictures doing?" Sebastian dropped onto his sofa and placed Ciel on his lap. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you and your wife? It's nice how you always start your calls with a bit of small talk, that creates such a friendly atmosphere.”, Sebastian replied. Will was about to answer something, but the noise in the background suggested that the phone was taken from him. "Bassy!", a shrill voice shrieked in Sebastian's ear, "How are you doing? How is it going?"

Sebastian held the phone away from his ear to avoid hearing damage. "Hello, Grell", he said, "your husband and you, you complement each other perfectly." Again he could hear noise in the background. Sebastian used the short pause to press a kiss on Ciel's forehead. Ciel snuggled up to him immediately.

Eventually Will had taken the phone back. "So, about the pictures. There will soon be an exhibition with pictures by different artists, nothing big, but some interested customers will be there. I was going to put some of your pictures that I have in the warehouse there, if you have a few new ones I'll put them out too.”, Will explained. Sebastian's gaze wandered to the storage room where he kept his pictures. He had been a little distracted lately, so he hadn't painted much.

"Um, I've got a few new ones", he muttered. "Well. How many?”, Will wanted to know. Sebastian was silent. He heard Will sigh at the other end of the line. "How few?", he corrected himself. "Five," Sebastian replied quietly, keeping the handset at a distance with foresight. "Five!?", Will shouted so loudly that Ciel was startled, "Since when have you been so slow? It's been weeks since you gave me the last pictures. You are always so fast usually?” Sebastian gritted his teeth. "I ... was a little distracted", he admitted. "Let me guess, you got a cat?", asked Will. Sebastian was silent again. It was kind of close to the truth, but how was he supposed to explain the whole truth? "Try to draw at least a little more. I will come over soon and pick up the five.“, said Will, said goodbye and hung up.

Sebastian threw the phone aside and sighed. As uncomfortable as it was to admit, Will was right. Still, he spent a long time scratching Ciel behind the ears and hugging him. Finally he got up, lifted Ciel from his lap and got his sketch pad.

Initially a little unmotivated, Sebastian started scribbling on a blank page. The more he drew, the more the lines turned into Ciel's features. Sebastian started smiling as he drew Ciel's pretty face. He was almost done when he was suddenly distracted by a fluffy pair of ears that he suddenly had in his face. Ciel looked at Sebastian's work curiously without noticing that he was blocking Sebastian's view with his head.

Sebastian gently pushed Ciel aside and wanted to finish his work, but Ciel squeezed under his arm and climbed back onto his lap. He leaned over the sketch and sniffed Sebastian's hand holding the pencil. His wagging tail wiped over Sebastian's face again and again. Sebastian couldn't decide whether to find it endearing or annoying. Ciel stopped him from working, but he only did it because he was curious about what Sebastian was doing and he was just too cute.

Finally Ciel leaned back so he leaned back against Sebastian's chest and Sebastian, his chin resting on Ciel's head, could see his sketch again. He was just about to continue drawing when Ciel took the pencil from his hand. He put the tip on the paper and slowly and carefully began to draw next to Sebastian's sketch. He wasn't particularly good at it, but that was probably because the fox had never drawn anything before. The result was not that bad. You could see that it was a portrait of Sebastian. Sebastian had to smile again. He put the paper away when Ciel was done and hugged Ciel again. "You did great.", he praised him, "Come on, we'll get you a piece of cake." Ciel snuggled up to Sebastian, wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and made pleased sounds. Sebastian carried his fox into the kitchen. His pictures could wait a little longer.


	5. thunderstorm

In the afternoon the rain had turned into a thunderstorm. Lightning and thunder had started and Ciel had crawled into Sebastian's bed and wrapped the blanket around himself. Every time the thunder rumbled outside, the fox winced and occasionally Sebastian could hear him whine.

Sebastian brewed a pot of tea and placed it on a tray with two cups and a small plate of chocolate, then he took it and went to his bedroom. He put the tray on his bedside table and closed the curtains, then turned to Ciel. The fox had become so entangled in the blanket that only the tip of his tail was sticking out. Sebastian had to smile. He sat down on the bed next to Ciel and carefully put his arms around the bundle of blankets while talking to Ciel reassuringly.

It was a while before Ciel dared to free his head from the covers. With wide eyes and flattened ears, he looked at Sebastian as if he were about to cry. The fox's fear hurt Sebastian's heart. He gently pressed a kiss on Ciel's forehead and pulled him onto his lap, wrapping the blanket around both of them and holding Ciel close to him.

Ciel snuggled closer to him. He put his head on Sebastian's chest and held on to his shirt. Slightly calmer than before, he let himself be scratched behind the ears and closed his eyes relaxed. When it thundered again, he pressed himself against Sebastian, who then wrapped his arms tighter around Ciel and put his chin on Ciel's head. "It's just a little thunder, just a loud noise, nothing to worry about. I'm here.“, he whispered to Ciel and the fox actually relaxed a little.

After a while, Ciel was so calm again that Sebastian let go of him a little and handed him a cup of tea. As Sebastian had shown him, Ciel took the mug by the handle and blew gently to cool the tea down a bit before sipping it. He had learned since Sebastian had made tea for him for the first time, which had been a little disaster that ended in burned fingers and lips and a mug thrown to the floor. In the meantime, however, Ciel had become very good at drinking tea and was very happy to do so, to Sebastian's surprise. Ciel didn't seem to care much about a fox's natural diet, but on the other hand, he wasn't a real fox either. Sebastian still didn't know what exactly he was, but he had planned to do some research.

While the rain was pattering evenly on the windows, Ciel continued to snuggle up to Sebastian and ate chocolate from his hand until he was getting tired. He curled up on Sebastian and dozed off slowly as Sebastian continued to scratch him behind the ears.


	6. first kiss

When Sebastian woke up the next morning, Ciel was still snuggled close to him. The fox was still asleep and was illuminated by the morning light falling through a crack in the curtains so Sebastian could admire him easily. He never got tired of looking at Ciel. The little one was the prettiest creature that Sebastian had ever seen, Aphrodite herself could not be one bit prettier in his eyes. He stroked the blue-gray strands and smiled.

He loved touching the fox, Ciel was warm and soft and always nestled against Sebastian, making his heart beat faster. Sebastian changed his position so that he was now on top of Ciel, supported by his forearms so that his weight was not on Ciel. He rubbed his nose into Ciel's hair and inhaled the fox's scent. The little one smelled of forest flowers and fresh grass and a bit of the detergent that Sebastian used for his clothes and bedding, both things which he shared with Ciel.

Maybe he should buy Ciel his own clothes instead of just letting him wear one of his shirts all the time. The fox would certainly look good in everything you put on him, you would have to put him in a potato sack to make Ciel look less pretty.

Sebastian was just imagining how he would dress Ciel when the fox woke up under him. He stretched his arms to the left and right of Sebastian's head and wrapped them around Sebastian's neck. He yawned and licked his lips, then slowly opened his eyes. With his long eyelashes and the position they were in, it looked really seductive and Sebastian caught himself thinking that he would be delighted if Ciel actually were to try and seduce him.

Lost in thought, Sebastian stroked Ciel's face with his left hand and came close to his right eye. Ciel flinched a little and looked away, his ears twitching nervously. Sebastian lowered his hand again, worried that he might have hurt Ciel by mistake, but there was no open wound or anything like that and Ciel hadn't made a whine like he usually did when something hurt or when he was afraid. His expression didn't look like he was in pain, but rather as if he felt sad and embarrassed.

Sebastian put his hand on Ciel's chin and made the fox look at him. There was doubt in Ciel's eyes as if he expected Sebastian to turn away from him in a moment. Sebastian frowned as he tried to guess what was going on in Ciel's pretty head. "Do you think I would judge you for your blind eye?", he asked softly, "Darling, do you think I could find you ugly because of this?" In response, Ciel closed his hands around Sebastian's hand, which was holding his chin and looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

The sight stung Sebastian's heart. He leaned forward on impulse and kissed Ciel gently on the lips. Surprised, Ciel flicked his ears and widened his eyes. He stared at Sebastian, who was watching his reaction through half-closed eyes. After the first moment of shock, Ciel relaxed and he returned the gentle pressure from Sebastian's lips, closing his eyes again.

Sebastian gently moved his lips against Ciel's. He nibbled at his lower lip gently and licked it until Ciel shyly opened his mouth and let him in. Sebastian let his tongue slide into his mouth and played around Ciel's smaller tongue, which let him lure it in immediately. Ciel's hands moved into Sebastian's hair and gently pulled him closer. To deepen the kiss, Sebastian cocked his head. He explored every corner of Ciel's mouth until he had to pause for the two of them to catch their breath.

Leaning face to face, they looked into each other's eyes, immersed in their own world. Sebastian's heart beat faster and Ciel had a cute blush on his face. "You are so incredibly beautiful, your right eye doesn't change that at all.", whispered Sebastian to Ciel, then kissed him again. Both couldn't stop kissing each other and they didn't manage to get out of bed before noon.


	7. headache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I'm back with a new chapter. I was so busy writing my oneshot seven red roses that I didn't have time to update.

After lunch, Sebastian lay down on his sofa, the back of his left hand over his eyes. He had a headache that was slowly increasing. It seldom happened that Sebastian got a headache and when it did, they were persistent and unfortunately Sebastian constantly forgot to buy aspirin or something like that. He almost laughed at the thought that this day, which had started so beautifully, could take such an unpleasant turn.

Sebastian felt Ciel pull on his shirt. He dropped his hand and looked at the fox creature, who was crouching next to the sofa, looking at him with concern. The fox's ears were flattened, his eyes wide open, he looked almost scared. Sebastian gently scratched him behind the ears. "Don't worry, Ciel. I'll be better soon, I just have to rest.”, he said, leaning forward and kissing Ciel on the forehead. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, tried to relax. Ciel rubbed his head at Sebastian's hand and made a quiet noise. It made Sebastian smile and he continued to scratch Ciel without looking. Ciel leaned against his shoulder and made more noises, not a whine, but something similar. Sebastian couldn't figure out what it meant and that worried him.

After a while, Ciel left. Sebastian opened one eye, but the fox was already out of sight and he didn't want to get up to see where he was going. So he closed his eyes again and listened instead to Ciel's footsteps and the quiet clink of dishes in the kitchen. He could hear the faucet buzzing and then an angry hiss from Ciel. Sebastian was just about to check, when Ciel's footsteps came back and stopped right next to him. Sebastian opened his eyes and hoisted himself up on his elbows. With a tense expression, Ciel held a glass that was filled to the brim with water, there were also a few water stains on the shirt that Ciel was wearing. His tail twitched back and forth, his ears were still flat and he made a pout that immediately melted into a look of relief when Sebastian took the glass and drank from it. Ciel relaxed and sat on the edge of the sofa next to Sebastian, who drained the glass in one go and put it away. Again he stroked Ciel's hair and ears. "Thank you darling. That is very kind of you.“, he said softly and Ciel nestled into his hand.

Sebastian lay down again and turned on his side so he faced the back of the sofa. The pain in his head had started to throb and for to Sebastian incomprehensible reasons, petting Ciel did not cause the pain to evaporate. He could feel the fox leaning against him and leaning his forehead on his arm. Ciel sighed sadly. After a while he got up and went away. Sebastian could hear him on the stairs, first as he ran upstairs, then shortly after as he slowly walked downstairs.

Sebastian jumped when he heard Ciel stumble and fall. He sat up and saw Ciel sitting on the floor. His feet were tangled with the blanket he had brought from their bed. He struggled to free himself, hissing angrily, and picked up the blanket before Sebastian could get up and help him. Even crumpled up the blanket was quite big compared to Ciel's small frame, he could hardly see over it. Nevertheless, he dragged it to the sofa and spread it over Sebastian. The action made Sebastian smile and he pulled Ciel into his arms. "That's so sweet of you, Ciel. Thank you.“, he whispered to him and kissed him. Then he lay down again, Ciel on his chest and covered them both with the blanket. He put his chin on the fox's head, who snuggled up to him contentedly and made a kind of purr, and closed his eyes again, really relaxed this time. When he opened them a few hours later, he felt much better.


	8. coffee

When Sebastian got up the next morning, he was very tense and his joints made a little popping noise when he stretched. Because it had been so nice yesterday, Sebastian had slept on the sofa with Ciel in his arms, which had apparently been a bad idea. Sebastian petted Ciel, who was still half asleep curled up on the sofa, on the head, then went into the kitchen to make coffee. He usually preferred tea, but on mornings like this he just found coffee better to really wake up.

While the coffee pot was slowly filling itself, Ciel got up too and came into the kitchen, apparently still not fully awake. He rubbed his eyes and hugged Sebastian. Sebastian pressed a kiss between his ears and hugged him back with one arm, with his free hand he took a cup from the kitchen cupboard and poured some coffee into it. He took a sip and sighed contentedly. Everything was much better now. With a cup of coffee and an armful of fox was a very pleasant way to start the day.

Ciel raised his head and cocked up his ears. He carefully pulled Sebastian's hand with the cup closer to him and sniffed it curiously. Sebastian allowed Ciel to take a sip and laughed as he grimaced at the taste of the drink. Ciel shook his head and whipped his tail through the air, but got curious when he saw Sebastian pouring some milk into the cup and stirring it. Sebastian watched the fox out of the corner of his eye as he drank some coffee again and Ciel avoided his gaze at first, like a child that was sulking but caught himself trying to be reconciled. When Sebastian offered him the cup again, Ciel sniffed it again and tried another sip. This time it seemed to taste better to him and he drank even more. Sebastian initially thought nothing of giving coffee to the fox, but later he regretted it a bit.

While Sebastian was putting on fresh clothes in his bedroom, Ciel started bouncing on the bed behind him. He kept hopping up and down, then he dropped himself backwards onto it and rolled back and forth as he giggled and whipped his tail until Sebastian picked him up and left the room with him. Ciel was still giggling and wriggled in Sebastian's arms, wrapping his legs around Sebastian's waist and covering his face in kisses. In itself that was an action that made Sebastian's heart beat faster, but it would have been even more pleasant if Ciel hadn't done it just as Sebastian was walking down the stairs. Miraculously, however, he managed not to trip and not to drop his precious cargo, but arrived safely at the foot of the stairs. He put Ciel down on the floor and immediately the fox started running through the living room and the kitchen, crawling over and under furniture, much like he did when he first came into the house, except that he didn't do it to discouver his surroundings this time.

Sebastian watched him for a while in amazement. He had a slightly guilty conscience because he hadn't thought about it before giving Ciel coffee, but he hadn't known it would have so much effect on him. Such a small body certainly took longer to process the caffeine. Maybe it was because of how small Ciel was, maybe because he wasn't used to it, either way, Ciel had to get the chance to get rid of his excess energy. Sebastian put on his shoes and put his key into his pocket, then grabbed Ciel, threw him over his shoulder and walked outside.


	9. the fox den

Outside, Sebastian placed Ciel back on his own feet and took Ciel's hand in his own. It was a sunny day, there were barely any clouds in the sky and accordingly it was warm. They went into the forest together and Ciel enthusiastically pulled Sebastian forward and hopped up and down. Smiling at the little one's enthusiasm, Sebastian gave in and accelerated his pace. They walked along the path between the trees, Sebastian had to lower his head again and again to avoid low-hanging branches. The air was filled with birdsinging and the smell of wood and grass. Sebastian couldn't stop smiling as he ran after Ciel, the fox's smaller hand in his own and the bobbing foxtail right in front of him.

Ciel only slowed down when they could hear the sound of a stream. He crept over the moss with his ears pointed up and led Sebastian closer to the stream that flowed through the forest. The clear water shimmered in the sun, so Sebastian could not see at first what Ciel was watching so attentively. Ciel led him to the bank. Only then did he let go of his hand and jumped on one of the large smooth stones that protruded from the water. His tail twitching, he crouched and leaned over the water's surface. Sebastian watched him with fascination and reached into his pockets for his cell phone to take a photo, but found that he hadn't taken it with him. So instead he sat down on the grass and took in Ciel's sight.

Ciel paid no attention to what Sebastian was doing, he stared into the water and held completely still for a while, before finally reaching into the water with lightning speed and pulling a fish out. The fish wriggled out of Ciel's hands, flew through the air with drops of water and splashed back into the water. Ciel dropped back onto the stone and flattened his ears in disappointment. It took a lot of effort for Sebastian, but he actually managed not to laugh. He got up and jumped onto the stone next to Ciel's. "So this is where you got the fish you brought the other day?", he asked Ciel even though the answer was obvious, because he could clearly see the fish swimming around in the stream. Ciel got up and rubbed his head briefly on Sebastian's arm, then went back to the same position as before, looking for his next prey.

Unfortunately Ciel was too restless from the caffeine and grabbed too hastily, so he lost more fish and Sebastian caught one before he did. However, Ciel was not at all offended by the fact that a human who did not do something like this regularly caught prey quicker than himself, but was really happy instead. Sebastian suspected that this was either because Ciel knew exactly that he would get some of the fish later, no matter who caught it, or that Ciel was happy because Sebastian proved to him that he was a good hunter and could provide for Ciel.

It took a while, but finally they caught a few fish together. Sebastian took off his t-shirt and tied it together so he could use it as a bag for their captured prey. He put all the fish in it and then took Ciel's hand to go home with him, but Ciel stared into the distance and didn't respond at first. Sebastian had to call his name to get his attention. Ciel blinked and looked up at him. He let Sebastian lift him up and put him down on the bank, but then threw another glance into the same direction. His expression was somehow thoughtful, almost melancholic. He had never looked like this, which made Sebastian curious. "What's the matter? What is there?", he asked, looking into the same direction as Ciel, but couldn't see anything unusual. He looked back at Ciel, who was watching him with wide eyes. Undecided, Ciel turned to the way they had come and back in the opposite direction he had been looking in, chewing his lip. Sebastian watched the fox a bit. Finally he started walking into the direction that had caught Ciel's attention and gently pulled the fox with him.

Ciel kept glancing at him shyly from the side as he walked alongside Sebastian. Not knowing exactly where they were going, Sebastian simply followed the stream until Ciel led him away from it. He walked a bit ahead of Sebastian, not so enthusiastically this time, but with ears pricked up just as attentively. He led Sebastian to a very large, old willow, the long branches of which hung to the floor like a curtain. Ciel brushed the branches aside and headed straight for the broad trunk, let go of Sebastian's hand, and went to his knees in front of the tree. He pushed a few loose branches and a slightly larger stone aside, thereby exposing a hole in the trunk through which he crawled into it.

Sebastian crouched down and put his T-shirt down next to him. The hole was relatively small, but still big enough for Ciel to crawl through without any problems. Sebastian peeked inside and found that the willow was mostly hollow. It was wide enough that there was a protected, small room in it, which was quite dark compared to the outside. Sebastian blinked and waited for his eyes to get used to the difference in light, he could already see the wihte tip of Ciel's tail twitching through the air. When his eyes had adjusted themselves, Sebastian noticed that there were some things in the willow. A few objects were lined up on the walls and in a hollow in the floor was a collection of moss and pieces of fur that made a kind of nest in which Ciel was sitting. Ciel looked at Sebastian with wide eyes and patted the spot next to him invitingly.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and examined the size of the entrance again. He didn't think he would fit through, but he couldn't turn his little fox down, so he tried anyway, and miraculously, he actually managed to squeeze himself through the hole with a lot of effort. It was very narrow inside and Sebastian tried not to move as much as possible. He sat next to Ciel and pulled his legs close. Ciel immediately snuggled against him and rubbed his head on Sebastian's shoulder, who immediately took him in his arms and kissed him between the ears. "You have lived here before you came to me, haven't you?”, Sebastian murmured into Ciel's hair. He looked around again. The wood didn't appear to be rotten, so Ciel had probably been sheltered from the wind and rain in here, but Sebastian could imagine that it would be pretty cold in here during winter. Unconsciously, he pulled Ciel closer as he thought about how Ciel must have lived so far. No wonder the fox was so small and thin when he was exposed to the elements all the time and had to take care of himself. And no wonder he had stolen Sebastian's food.

While Sebastian was pondering about that, Ciel stroked over Sebastian's exposed abs with one hand, lost in his own thoughts. His gaze wandered to the wall and he leaned past Sebastian to grab one of the objects there. Sebastian's eyes followed his hand and he noticed that there was a glass bottle with a yellowed label and some water in it, an old pocket knife and a small tin box standing along the wall. Ciel took the box, pulled his arm back and opened it. Inside were small stones of various shapes, glass beads and buttons, fragrant pieces of bark and a few candy wrappers with a beautiful print. Ciel took out several of the things, showed them to Sebastian and put them back inside. It was like a little treasure chest filled with things that Ciel had found in the forest at some point.

Sebastian smiled at Ciel and examined everything he showed him to show his interest. But he primarily observed Ciel's expression, which was delighted and focused the entire time, until he found something on the bottom of the box. It was an old photo charred on one corner. Ciel gazed at it full of melancholy, he looked like he was about to cry. He bit his lip and pressed closer to Sebastian, curled up and showed Sebastian the photo without looking him in the eyes. Sebastian was irritated and concerned about the sudden change in Ciel's behavior and did not pay attention to the photograph at first, but pulled Ciel onto his lap and hugged him. Only then did he look at the picture and in his surprise he almost dropped it. It showed a smiling blonde woman with fox ears and a fox tail in the same color as her hair. Her face was friendly and pretty, the shape and facial features were very familiar to Sebastian, not to mention the eyes. She had big, round eyes of a beautiful sapphire blue, framed by long, dark eyelashes. She was sitting on a chair on a porch, in the background was a forest, and she was wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans. Her tail was elegantly placed over her legs, her ears attentively pointed upwards and she smiled so warmly that one could imagine that the picture was taken by someone dear to her.

Sebastian stared at the photo, scratching Ciel's ears absentmindedly. The vixen in the picture looked so much like Ciel that she had to be related to him, if only because of the fact that she had fox ears and a tail like Ciel, which must be quite a rare trait to have, at least Sebastian had never heard that there were people with this trait. Concerning Ciel, he had never given much thought to what he really was, he had simply considered the tail and ears part of Ciel and accepted them as such, but this raised the question. Sebastian eyed Ciel thoughtfully. Maybe he was a kind of fairy? That would fit. Some magical creature from the forest. That woman would probably be the same kind of being. But who was she anyway? Sebastian turned the photo over. On the back was a little faded but still recognizable "Rachel, second month pregnant" written.

Sebastian stared at the picture for a while longer and read the writing over and over until he finally put the photo back into Ciel's box. His mind was circling and he couldn't get to a point. He wrapped both arms around Ciel and pressed his face into his hair, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could feel Ciel turning in his arms until he was lying on Sebastian's chest, knees on the left and right of Sebastian's hips. He pushed himself up on Sebastian until his forehead leaned against Sebastian's. Sebastian opened his eyes again and gazed lovingly at Ciel, who flicked his tail and gazed back at Sebastian with wide eyes. Ciel leaned forward and timidly brushed his lips against Sebastian's. Sebastian immediately kissed him, which elicited a joyful sound from Ciel. He placed his hands on Sebastian's cheeks and kissed back.

Sebastian couldn't estimate how much time had passed, but eventually he broke away from Ciel and straightened up. He picked up Ciel's tin box that he had previously set aside, closed it and gave it to Ciel, then lifted the fox off his lap and stood up. The two left the willow, Sebastian picked up his improvised bag with the fish again, then held out his hand to Ciel. Ciel put his small hand in Sebastian's much larger one and smiled as Sebastian's fingers closed around his own. With his free hand he pressed his box to his chest and walked alongside Sebastian to their home.


	10. a relaxing bath

Once home, Sebastian first brought the fish to the kitchen and unwrapped them from the T-shirt. He wanted to prepare them right away, but then changed his mind. He grabbed the t-shirt and Ciel and carried both to the bathroom, where he threw the shirt in the laundry and sat down Ciel on the edge of the bathtub. After spending half the day on the bank of the stream and in the forest, both of them were a little dirty and exhausted, so Sebastian decided that a bath was now appropriate. This time, however, it would be more pleasant than the last time.

Sebastian took the shower head and turned on the water. He held his hand under the jet of water and waited for it to reach a nicely warm temperature, then carefully took one of Ciel's feet in his hand and washed the dirt and earth bids off of it. On occasion he would buy Ciel shoes, the fox still ran barefoot all the time. After one foot was clean, Sebastian repeated the procedure with the other one, ran some water over his calves and knees to wash away the mud splashes there. He kept an eye on whether Ciel was bothered by it, but that wasn't the case.

After all the dirt had flowed through the drain, Sebastian put a plug in it and let the water continue to run so the tub filled itself up. Then he sat down next to Ciel and started unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. The shirt slowly slid down Ciel's shoulders and came to lay around his waist. Sebastian left it there for now and got up again. He took off his pants and socks and threw them into the laundry as well, then walked to the narrow shelf on the wall and took out the small pack with an organic soap piece that he had recently bought. It was still wrapped in a paper printed with a rose pattern, matching the smell of roses that the soap exuded. Sebastian removed the paper and walked back to the bathtub.

When he looked up he noticed that Ciel was watching him. Ciel hastily turned his head and stared at his feet dangling in the water, blushing as if he had just been caught doing something indecent. Sebastian cocked his head in curiousity, but didn't bother to ask what was the matter. Instead, he went up to Ciel, who still had turned his back to him. He put the soap away and wrapped his arms around Ciel's waist, pressed his nose against Ciel's neck, and took a deep breath. Ciel hesitantly placed his hands on Sebastian's arms and leaned into the hug.

They stayed like this for a while until Sebastian, looking over Ciel's shoulder, found that the tub was sufficiently filled with water. He broke away from Ciel, who looked rather disappointed at that, and turned off the faucet. Then Sebastian took off his boxers and took Ciel's shirt and threw them both into the laundry. He gently lifted Ciel into the tub and then sat down behind him. This time Ciel was completely relaxed, Sebastian was very pleased with himself for being better off instead of surprising and confusing Ciel like last time.

Sebastian leaned his back against the edge of the bathtub, his legs stretched out as far as possible, his arms around Ciel's waist again. Ciel sat between his legs and leaned back against Sebastian's chest, his head directly under Sebastian's chin. His tail slowly moved back and forth, the white tip sometimes broke out of the water surface and caused the water to move a little. The sight amused Sebastian. He reached for Ciel's tail and ran his fingers through the wet fur. That didn't bother Ciel one bit, he had his eyes half closed and was happily pressing himself to Sebastian, who then started running his hands through Ciel's hair and scratching his ears. Ciel sighed relaxed and leaned his head back. His eyes closed as Sebastian gently ran his fingers over Ciel's ears. The blue-gray fur was really silky and Sebastian's breath tickled his ears, making them twitch a little.

Sebastian scratched and petted him for a while, then his gaze fell on the soap he had put aside earlier and he took it. He carefully took one of Ciel's hands in his own and lifted his arm out of the water. He rubbed the soap gently over Ciel's skin, careful not to rub too hard. Then he did the same with Ciel's other arm. Ciel let him do as he pleased and didn't object a bit, on the contrary, he let Sebastian lift him back and forth as he wanted, while he gradually soaped Ciel's whole body and washed it off again. Then he washed Ciel's hair and tail and put the soap aside.

Ciel leaned his head back and gazed at Sebastian with wide eyes from below. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Is there something?", he asked. Ciel straightened up and turned around so he was kneeling in front of Sebastian. He placed his hands on Sebastian's upper arms and leaned forward to kiss Sebastian on the cheek. His lips lingered there a little longer than necessary and Sebastian couldn't suppress a smile, especially since Ciel then kissed him on the other cheek as well. Then he sank against Sebastian's chest and nestled against him. He sighed contentedly and let his fingers trace the contours of Sebastian's muscles, which brought a blush to his cute face again. Sebastian grinned when he realized that it was his muscles that Ciel found so interesting now and before. If his fox liked them so much, he would walk around shirtless more often.

After Sebastian had also washed himself and the water slowly lost its heat, he lifted Ciel out of the tub and climbed out himself. He wrapped Ciel in the same large towel as last time and gently dried him, then dried himself and wrapped his own towel around his waist. He brushed Ciel's hair and tail and wanted to put the brush away after he was done, but Ciel took it out of his hand. He went up onto his tiptoes and pulled Sebastian down to be at eye level with him. Or rather he tried to pull Sebastian down, who then willingly lowered himself so Ciel could get his way. Ciel ran his fingers through Sebastian's hair and brushed it, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. He wasn't particularly skillful at it, he kept accidentally pulling on the black strands and afterwards Sebastian didn't have the impression that his hair was neater than before, but nonetheless he thanked Ciel, who looked quite pleased with himself.

After blow drying them both, Sebastian lifted Ciel into his arms and carried him to the bedroom, where he put a fresh white shirt on Ciel. While Ciel dropped onto the bed and lounged there, Sebastian dressed himself as well. He chose a pair of jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt. After getting dressed, he walked to the bed and sat down next to Ciel, who had curled up into a ball and was holding his tail in his hands. He was a little tired now and his eyes dropped closed sleepily when Sebastian stroked his hair. Sebastian's gaze wandered across the bed, a large king-size bed that offered plenty of space that Ciel didn't use. Maybe Ciel curled up because he was used to the little hollow in the willow, Sebastian thought and his smile faded a little.

He pondered about that and continued to stroke the dozing fox until a noise he hadn't expected bothered him: the doorbell rang. Sebastian frowned in confusion. Usually, when you lived in the middle of the forest, you were safe from people who could ring the doorbell. Sebastian's gaze slid back to Ciel and he considered pretending not to be home, but it rang a second time. With a sigh, he released his hand from Ciel's soft hair and left the dozing fox's side. Sebastian went out of the bedroom, closed the door behind him and crept down the stairs. When he opened the door, William and Grell were standing in front of it. Grell had hooked her arm around her husband's and waved at Sebastian. "Hey, Bassy, how are you?", Grell asked. Will cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "Hello. So then. As discussed, I'm there for the pictures. Grell really wanted to come along and say hi.”, Will explained. Sebastian blinked irritated. He had completely forgotten the phone call from William. "Oh, right, come on in.", he muttered in thought, stepping aside to let his visitors in.


	11. Grell and Will meet Ciel

While Grell and William took off their shoes in the hallway and went to the living room, Sebastian got the finished pictures from the storage room. Even though he had actually been warned, it made him nervous that the two were here now. He hadn't told anyone about Ciel until now and he feared that if they saw him they would react badly. However, Ciel was in the bedroom right now and if he stayed there they would not notice him.

Sebastian was still preoccupied with these thoughts as he put down the pictures in the living room, where Grell and Will had already settled on the sofa. While Will looked at the pictures, Sebastian went into the kitchen to make tea, as he always did when the two were visiting. When only William came by alone, such meetings would usually be over quickly, but when Grell came along, he could expect a conversation to go on for quite a while. When Sebastian came back into the living room and put the teapot and cups on the table, William cleared his throat and pointed to one of the pictures after he had caught Sebastian's attention this way.

"This one is ... really good. I mean, the others are good too, but this one is special. I don't really know what you actually painted there, but ... The colors, the lines, the motif, the whole atmosphere of the picture is just wonderful.”, William explained with a somewhat embarrassed look about this for his circumstances high praise that he had just given. Sebastian smiled at first, but his smile froze when he noticed that the picture Will spoke of was the one showing Ciel sleeping in Sebastian's bed. "It is really cute! I almost want to lie down next to this cute fantasy creature and take a nap with it.”, Grell added, one hand resting on her hip and the other on her chin while she examined the picture closely. "Um ... yes ... yes, that's ... I thought so too.", Sebastian muttered, cursing mentally. He was usually good at making excuses spontaneously, but right now his brain seemed to be blocking.

“This picture will definitely get a high price. I can already think of several customers whose tastes it matches. Druitt, for example, would be really into it.“, William thought aloud and adjusted his glasses. That pulled Sebastian out of his thoughts. He had painted the picture out of fascination for Ciel, had wanted to capture the moment when Ciel was lying on his bed like an angel, this moment between the two. The thought that someone else would buy it and hang it up at home made him uncomfortable.

“To be honest, I would prefer not tosell it. Especially not to an obnoxious guy like Druitt, I know him because I taught his nephew during my time as a teacher.”, Sebastian explained, which earned him a confused look from William and raised eyebrows from Grell. "Pardon me, but that's a bad idea. You have to sell pictures, especially good ones, otherwise you have no income at all. Then you have to work as a teacher again, I thought you didn't want that anymore.”, William expressed his concerns. Grell was silent and slowly let her gaze wander back and forth between Sebastian and the picture. Sebastian crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "I'll sell the other pictures but not this one. And my income is my business, I'm already worried enough about it, but I can make ends meet.”, Sebastian grumbled.

"You are really stubborn. Why are you so upset just because of a picture? As I said...", William started to argue again, but he was interrupted by his wife, who tugged at his sleeve and shook her head, smiling. "Oh Williboy, sometimes you are a bit foolish. Sebastian is not thinking about the picture, he is thinking about the model. Right, Bassy?”, Grell explained and winked. Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise. Although he knew that Grell sometimes had more insight than you would expect of a chaot like her, this was still a surprise, she had just thought Ciel was a fantasy after all. William was obviously thinking something similar, looking at his wife in confusion. "Why model? What do you mean?”, he asked. Grell sighed and patted his head as if he were a child. “So first of all, Bassy always draws by model. Secondly, the bed in the picture is Bassy's, I know that because that's the bedding I gave him last Christmas. Third, the model wears one of these white shirts, of which Bassy has a whole collection. And fourthly, his reaction speaks for itself. And if all of that isn't enough for you...", Grell explained, turned to the door frame that led to the stairs and pointed at it,"...then there is said model, who came, if I am not mistaken, from the direction of Bassy's bedroom."

William and Sebastian turned towards the stairs and followed Grell's index finger with their eyes. Indeed, Ciel was standing at the door frame, half hidden behind it, only half of his face was visible and he was hiding even more when everyone's eyes were on him. Sebastian took a few steps towards him and spread his arms. Just a moment later, Ciel already pressed himself against him, his ears flattened and his tail twitching back and forth. He clutched Sebastian's T-shirt and glanced shyly past Sebastian at the two guests. Sebastian stroked his hair reassuringly and turned uncertainly to the two. Grell had placed both hands on his cheeks and eyed Ciel full of interest. "How cute.", she murmured. William blinked in confusion, took off his glasses, cleaned them and put them back on, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Sebastian cleared his throat and turned back to Ciel. "These are Grell and Will, two friends of mine. It's okay, they won't hurt you.”, he explained to him and mentally added that everyone who wanted to hurt Ciel first had to get past him. Grell came closer and reached out to stroke Ciel's hair, but Ciel hid behind Sebastian. "How adorable! What's his name?”, she asked. Sebastian shrugged and gazed at Ciel thoughtfully. "I don't know. I call him Ciel.”, he answered truthfully. "Hello Ciel. You don't have to be afraid of us.”, Grell said and waved at Ciel with a smile, which didn't change the fox's shyness. "I'm not sure he understands you. He hasn't spoken a single word so far.”, Sebastian warned. Grell looked up at him in surprise. "Oh? But how come he is here? How did you get to know each other?“, she asked. William also came closer and joined in on the questions. "Who and what is he anyway? And where does he come from?”, he wanted to know.

Sebastian sighed. He would like to have an answer to many of these questions himself. He would simply explain what he could explain to them. He lifted Ciel into his arms and carried him to his armchair, where he sat down with Ciel on his lap. He poured tea into the cups while Grell and Will took a seat on the sofa, then handed his cup to Ciel and leaned back. Then he began to tell them everything, petting Ciel's head all the while.


	12. thoughts

When Sebastian had finished speaking, the cups were empty and Will's and Grell's faces were thoughtful. For a short while there was silence, in which the two thought about everything Sebastian had told them. "Maybe he's one of those fairy children who have been exchanged with a human child, a changeling. And when his parents noticed that, they abandoned him in the forest, where he then used his magic to adapt to his surroundings.”, Grell mused loudly, while she looked at Ciel lost in thought. "That sounds like something out of a fairy tale. Admittedly, we're talking about a hybrid of humans and foxes, so something that sounds like a fairytale might actually be true, but not this theory. After all, his mother has the same characteristics.”, replied William, pointing to the photo from Ciel's box that Sebastian had shown them that still lay on the table. Grell nodded slowly and raised her eyebrows. "That's right. There must be something else behind it.”, she murmured.

Sebastian tickled one of Ciel's ears and watched it twitch cutely. "I too have thought of fairies or elves, but he does not give the impression that he can work magic and, moreover, they have the shape of people with wings. I can't think of a magical being with fox and human characteristics.”, Sebastian said. He was somewhat annoyed with himself because he had planned to do research in this direction, but had forgotten to do it. "I can, but I don't know if it fits him. He looks rather European, judging by the facial features. The kitsunes I am thinking of right now are Japanese.“, William pondered, scratching his neck thoughtfully. Sebastian and Grell looked at him questioningly. “A kitsune, which is Japanese for fox, is a shape shifter whose original shape is that of a fox. He also has some magical powers that increase the older he gets, as well as the number of his tails until he has nine tails at some point.”, Will explained and adjusted his glasses. Sebastian and Grell exchanged a look, then they automatically looked at Ciel's tail, the white tip of which was swinging back and forth.

William cleared his throat to regain their attention. "As I said, I don't know if that could fit, but it's the only being I can think of. And I don't know why a Japanese fox creature would live in a forest here in England.”, he added. "Which brings us back to the question that concerns me a lot more: Why was he alone? The photo proves that his parents were happy when they expected him, so why aren't they with him now? Something must have happened in the meantime, otherwise he would live with them. After all, he's still so young.”, Sebastian thought aloud and scratched Ciel under the chin, which made the fox purr. "How old is he anyway?", Grell asked and took the photo. She turned it over and studied the backside again, but there was no date anywhere, so she put it down and looked at Ciel's face through narrowed eyes. "I would estimate him at ... about 16. No, wait a minute, he has such a babyface, that makes me guess him younger than he is. He could be around 18.”, she murmured.

Grell giggled as Ciel nestled his cheek in Sebastian's palm. "Oh well. It doesn't matter how old he is. Either way he's a real darling.”, she cooed, patting Ciel's head. Startled by the sudden touch of someone other than Sebastian, Ciel snapped at Grell's hand instinctivly, his fangs scratching her fingers. Grell winced and pulled her hand back.. Immediately William jumped up and hugged his wife. He pulled her a bit away from Sebastian and Ciel and started cursing as he examined the marks of Ciel's teeth on Grell's fingers. "Sebastian, make sure that your cuddle fox doesn't harm Grell! How dare he try and attack her! How dare he tear open her tender skin!”, William shouted, which in turn made Sebastian angry. He stood up, held Ciel, who had flattened his ears and whipped his tail wildly while clinging to Sebastian, on one arm and clenched his free hand into a fist. "You're one to talk, insulting Ciel just because he was surprised and thought he had to fight back! As if it was his fault that Grell couldn't pull herself together!”, he growled back.

William and Sebastian glared at each other angrily, but Grell prevented the situation from getting out of hand by moving between the two and clearing their throat. "Now calm down, you two. Nothing bad happened. I barely have a few scratches.”, she clarified and turned to Ciel. "I'm sorry that I scared you, it wasn't my intention, all right, sweetie?", she cooed with a smile, but Ciel didn't pay any attention to that, but pressed his face into Sebastian's shoulder. Nevertheless, Grell's words ensured that Sebastian and William calmed down again. To make sure that peace returned, Grell took Will by the hand and pulled him towards the bathroom, where she knew that Sebastian kept his first aid kit. "Come on, Willy-darling, you can put a band aid on my hand. You are so cute, when you try and defend me, do you know that?”, she could be heard babbling happily while the two left the room.

Sebastian sighed and changed the position in which he held Ciel so now he carried him bridal style. He rubbed his nose against Ciel's hair and muttered a few soothing words until Ciel relaxed again. Ciel raised his head and looked at Sebastian with wide eyes, still a little unsettled by the whole situation. Sebastian kissed him on the forehead and was about to tell him that everything was fine when he heard Ciel's stomach growl. Ciel hastily lowered his gaze again, but Sebastian only laughed. "Right, it's really time for us to eat something.", he muttered and went into the kitchen, where he placed Ciel on his feet and got the fish out of the fridge. Ciel clung to him and watched, whis tail twitching in interest, as Sebastian prepared them.

After a while, William and Grell, whose fingers William had wrapped with bandages, came back. Although Sebastian's kitchen was not too small, it got a bit cramped with four people in it, even if one of the four was small and basicially attached to one of the other three, but Grell insisted that she and Will would help cook. "It's nice, isn't it? Us cooking together! Like a family, only that we are not a family but friends.“, she squealed cheerfully while she peeled potatoes. "We're not friends.", William grumbled, glaring at Sebastian. "Will, we went to school together.", Sebastian replied unimpressed. "Then we're acquaintances.", Will insisted stubbornly. Sebastian looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I was your best man at your wedding.", he reminded him. William was silent for a while, stirring the sauce he was preparing. "Good acquaintances.", he said finally after he couldn't think of a better word. Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned back to the fish, while Grell couldn't stop giggling. 

She leaned down to Ciel and raised her flat hand next to her mouth as if she wanted to whisper a secret to him. "Don't be fooled, honey. Uncle William just doesn't want to admit that Sebastian and he are friends, but they have been for years.”, she told him. Ciel just looked at her and twitched one ear. Grell giggled again and she couldn't hold back, tapping the tip of Ciel's nose with her index finger. Irritated, Ciel glanced at his nose and looked questioningly at Sebastian, who was watching amused. He stroked Ciel's hair and wanted to say something, but Ciel's cute confusion gave him the same impulse. He tapped the tip of Ciel's nose and softly said "Boop". Ciel frowned and pressed his nose against Sebastian's chest, which made Sebastian and Grell laughed again.


	13. daisies

The four had lunch together on Sebastian's veranda. Grell provided Sebastian with the newest gossip about all of their acquaintances. Although Sebastian wasn't particularly interested in topics like that, he didn't interrupt her, but only silently wondered how she managed to eat and talk at the same time. After they finished eating, they sat and chatted for a while, until William, looking at his watch, noticed that he and Grell had to go. They put away the dishes and packed the four pictures that William would take with him, put them into William's trunk and said goodbye. As a farewell, Grell made another attempt to pet Ciel's head and this time he let her do it, but still held on to Sebastian's t-shirt a little unsure. Grell's enthusiastic rambling about how cute Ciel was was interrupted by Will, who pulled her to the car and nodded goodbye to Sebastian and Ciel. The two watched the car drive away, Grell waving out of the passenger window, then they went back inside.

Ciel dropped onto the sofa, stretched, and sighed. The visit seemed to have been a little much at once for him. Sebastian decided to let him have some rest. He went into the kitchen and washed the dirty dishes. When he came back into the living room, Ciel was lying there as before, eyes closed. Sebastian smiled at the sight and left the living room. He went up the stairs to the bathroom and got the wet laundry out of the washing machine, then went back to his veranda with the laundry basket under his arm. The veranda had a roof and Sebastian tied the clothesline to its' two outer beams, then he got the clothes pegs and went about hanging everything up neatly.

Sebastian's weakness for the sight of Ciel in his white shirts, which were much too big for the fox, took revenge on Sebastian. The shirts had got several grass stains and a few scratches because Ciel didn't pay much attention to whether his clothes got dirty or not. The fox had a preference for lying in the grass in the sunshine and dozing there, and Sebastian was happy to watch him every time. Between the edge of Sebastian's veranda and the edge of the forest was a strip of meadow a few meters wide, the grass of which was relatively long because Sebastian rarely ever mowed it. Accordingly, it was soft and flowers grew in it. It looked beautiful when Ciel lay down in it. Sebastian sighed dreamily. He would have to get a better detergent to get the stains out. Or buy more shirts.

While Sebastian, still lost in thought, hung the last of the shirts up, he noticed a movement on the other side of the clothesline. There was no wind, so he was surprised at first, but then found that it was Ciel who ran his hand along the hanging clothes as he passed them. Most of him was hidden behind them, but Sebastian could see Ciel's legs and tail when he looked down. He laughed softly and pushed two shirts apart to walk through them and get to Ciel, but the fox quickly hopped to the other side. When Sebastian went back through the clothesline, Ciel quickly ran to the other side again.

Sebastian sighed, but couldn't help grinning. If the little one wanted to play, he could have it. Sebastian started running back and forth along the clothesline, always after Ciel, who stayed on the other side. The fox couldn't stop giggling as he ran away from Sebastian. His tail wagged excitedly back and forth. He peeped through two pieces of clothing again and again to see where Sebastian was and every time when Sebastian stopped for a moment, Ciel waited and only started to run again when Sebastian started moving again.

The two chased around on the veranda for a while. Ciel was far too agile and fast for Sebastian to catch him, but at some point he managed to touch the tip of Ciel's tail. However, he didn't grab very hard and the soft fur slipped through his hand, so Ciel escaped him again. Ciel squealed cheerfully when he felt Sebastian's hand and jumped forward to leave the veranda and land on the grass. Sebastian saw his chance. He managed to cut Ciel's way and actually caught him. He grabbed Ciel but lost his balance and fell to the floor. In the fall, he still managed to put his arms around Ciel protectivly so the fox's impact on the floor wasn't too hard.

The two dropped down in the middle of a patch of daisies, laughed and caught their breath. Sebastian rolled on his back and pulled Ciel onto his chest. Above him was the blue sky with the majestically piled clouds, his warm, soft fox lay on top of him and a broad smile was on Sebastian's face. He couldn't remember ever being as happy as he was now with Ciel.

While Sebastian was still thinking about his luck, stroking Ciel's hair, Ciel let his hand wander through the grass next to them. He picked and sniffed one of the daisies, then rested his chin on Sebastian's chest and gazed at him. Sebastian's attention focused back on Ciel when he felt his hand in his hair. Ciel tried to put the daisy between the black strands, but didn't really manage that, but he quickly found that if he simply put it behind Sebastian's ear, it would stay in place. Ciel sat up so that he was sitting on Sebastian in a position as if he was riding him and started to pick more daisies.

Sebastian touched his new accessory somewhat confused. He wasn't actually too fond of the idea of having flowers in his hair, but he left it there for Ciel's sake. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched Ciel, whose eyebrows were drawn in concentration as he tried to tie the flower stems together. It didn't really work, Ciel's tail lashed against Sebastian's leg in frustration. Sebastian smiled at Ciel's cute pout and sat up to assist him. He gently placed his hands on Ciel's and directed them in the right direction. Slowly but surely, the two formed a chain of daisies, the ends of which Sebastian tied together. He placed the flower crown on Ciel's head and admired their work, or more precisely, admired how cute Ciel looked with it.

He wrapped his arms around Ciel's waist and pulled him close. Gently he nudged Ciel's nose with his own and laughed softly when the fox then pouted again and flattened his ears while making puppy eyes at Sebastian from below. He was apparently still confused by Sebastian and Grell poking his nose, Sebastian almost felt sorry for overwhelming him with that, but Ciel was just too cute. So cute that Sebastian couldn't hold back and kissed him. Ciel's pout quickly dissolved and he kissed back, though a little hesitantly. In order not to overwhelm him further, Sebastian went no further than a short lip contact and lay back again, carefully pulling Ciel with him.

The two stayed in the grass for a long time, cuddled and kissed some more. Over time, it slowly got dark. Sebastian gently stroked Ciel's hair and scratched him as the sun went down. The play of colors of red and orange illuminated the fox's features wonderfully, Sebastian couldn't look away. When it got dark it got colder and Sebastian went inside to get jackets for himself and Ciel. When he came out, Ciel was no longer lying on the grass where he had left him, but was running around and jumping into the air again and again. He tried to catch the fireflies that were floating in the air with his hands. Sebastian watched enraptured from the edge of the veranda. At some point Ciel was exhausted and he came to Sebastian, who put him in one of his hooded jackets, which hung over Ciel's knees and which's sleeves covered Ciel's hands. Ciel snuggled into his jacket and inhaled Sebastian's scent that hung on it while Sebastian carried him into the house.


	14. in the evening

After leaving Sebastian's cottage, William first brought Grell home and then drove to the exhibition house where he exhibited Sebastian's pictures along with several others. When he was done he drove back. It was getting dark by the time he closed the front door behind him and took off his shoes and jacket. Exhausted he walked into the living room, where Grell was sitting on the sofa and watching TV. He dropped onto the sofa next to her and placed his head in Grell's lap. Immediately she started running one hand through his hair until he was a little more relaxed and sat up. He put an arm around his wife and she instantly snuggled up to him. For a while neither of them said anything, instead they simply enjoyed each other's presence and closeness.

At some point, Grell broke the silence. "I'm happy for Sebastian that he has finally found someone. When he moved into the cottage, I thought he would become really lonely. But now Ciel is there and the two are just heart-warming! This little fox is so cute!”, she enthused. William began to braid a few strands of her red mane. "I don't think Sebastian would feel lonely. After all, he was always a loner.”, he muttered in thoughts. "Yeah, but I don't know if he ever really wanted that. I mean, yes, Sebastian never bothered to find friends or a partner, but maybe that was just out of habit, because he was so lonely as a child, had no siblings, his parents were so distant, and he was taking private lessons instead of going to school. And later when he became a teacher, he spent all his time at this boarding school, where he taught for most of the day or took care of the students. Sebastian never actually had the opportunity to make friends or start a relationship. I am happy for him that he now found both in Ciel.“, Grell explained her thoughts.

William nodded absentmindedly, but then suddenly stopped when Grell's words registered in his tired head. "Wait a minute, you mean ... The two are not just friends on a Platonic level?", he asked, irritated. Grell laughed and patted his cheek gently. "Oh, Willyboy, sometimes you are really stupid. For someone so smart, you really have little understanding for some things. Haven't you seen how Sebastian behaved around Ciel? How he could not separate himself from the picture of him, how he held him in his arms, how he had him on his lap and scratched and caressed him. And especially his reaction when he bit me and you got mad. He immediately took Ciel under protection and lifted him up. His angry expression was a reflection of yours and you defended your wife. Sebastian fell head over heels in love with his cute fox, believe me.“, Grell explained and smiled her dreamy smile, which she had every time she thought of something romantic. William thought about her words and shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. I mean, yes, Sebastian definitely is attached to him, but whether he also fell in love with him ... I don't know.“, he murmured skeptically and fastened his braiding with a hair tie, while Grell only laughed softly and shook her head over William.

While the Spears were talking abou that, Sebastian and Ciel were busy kissing intensely. After they had walked back inside, Sebastian had headed for the kitchen with the intention of making tea so the two could warm up better. After spending most of the evening outside, both of them felt chilly, but now they were warming up in a different way than Sebastian had thought. He had wanted to use the time it took for the water to boil to press a kiss or two on Ciel's lips, but had been unable to seperate himself from them. The water was already cooling down while Sebastian sat Ciel onto the kitchen counter and moved to stand between his legs. He had wrapped one arm around Ciel's waist and was pressing the fox against himself, the other hand was placed on Ciel's cheek. Ciel clung to Sebastian's shirt and made sweet sounds while welcoming Sebastian's tongue into his mouth.

Sebastian examined every millimeter of Ciel's mouth. His tongue slid around Ciel's in a playful fight for dominance, which Sebastian clearly won, which didn't bother Ciel, on the contrary. He pretty much melted in Sebastian's arms and under his caresses. When Sebastian let go of him after what felt like an eternity, Ciel made a disappointed sound and clung to him even tighter. A thread of saliva connected their mouths, but quickly collapsed under its own weight. Sebastian stroked his thumb gently over Ciel's cheek as he gazed at Ciel's face, the reddened, swollen lips, the glassy eyes, the blush on his cheeks, his soft hair with the flowers in it. The sight was breathtaking. Sebastian couldn't get a clear thought when he looked at Ciel, which might have something to do with his blood leaving his brain and rushing to areas between his legs instead. He hugged Ciel tightly and rubbed his nose against Ciel's neck, which the fox immediately presented to him by tilting his head back. It felt so good to touch Ciel. He was warm and soft and fit so perfectly into Sebastian's arms as if he were made for him. The soft purr that Ciel uttered, expressing how much he liked the touch made Sebastian's heart beat faster. Actually, everything about him made Sebastian's heart beat faster. To him Ciel was the most wonderful being that existed. "Oh, Ciel, my darling, my angel. I would do anything for you. I would die for you, kill for you. You make me so happy. I wonder how I deserved the blessing of your presence in my life.”, Sebastian murmured against Ciel's skin. Then he started kissing Ciel again.


	15. problems in the morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't plan to write this chapter at all, but I couldn't get the Image out of my head so... Here you go.

When Sebastian woke up the next morning, Ciel was still sound asleep, his head resting on Sebastian's shoulder, one arm around Sebastian's chest. Sebastian himself had his arms around Ciel as usual, but today he wasn't as relaxed as usual. On the contrary, when he woke up, he started sweating with nervousness. He raised his head and looked down at himself. As he had feared, he was completely hard, the blanket between his legs had taken the form of a tent. Sebastian let himself drop back and sighed. It was because of the wild kisses the night before that had filled his dreams that he was now faced with a hard problem. He had dreamed of Ciel all night, of his soft lips, the sweet sounds he made when Sebastian kissed him, the lovely way he lounged in Sebastian's bed or on the grass, the irresistible look that Ciel sometimes gave him through his long eyelashes. In his dreams, Sebastian had explored every millimeter of Ciel's soft skin, traced the wonderful shapes of his body. Those beautiful, slender legs, on the thighs of which of Sebastian's shirts always slipped up a little, the narrow waist that Sebastian could almost wrap his hands around and around which he his arms fit so well, his neck, so soft and warm, that Ciel had presented to him without hesitation, full of trust in him, his ...... Sebastian shook his head when he noticed in which direction his thoughts wandered. Imagining all of this only made his problem worse.

Sebastian gulped and bit his lip. Somehow he had to take care of it. It would hardly be pleasant if Ciel woke up and noticed. In the end, he might think Sebastian was perverted and he didn't want to let that happen. Even if it didn't bother Ciel, the situation would be embarrassing. Very carefully and slowly he tried to detach himself from Ciel and leave the bed without waking him. It wasn't easy since Ciel was lying half on top of him and holding on to Sebastian's shirt in his sleep. Sebastian carefully loosened Ciel's finger from the fabric and gently lifted Ciel away from him. He actually managed to get out of bed without disturbing Ciel's sleep. The fox's hand searched the suddenly empty area next to him, but then he snuggled up to Sebastian's pillow. Sebastian took a deep breath and went to the bathroom.

He undressed and stood under the shower, the water of which he set as cold as possible. That definitely woke him up fully and was very uncomfortable, but unfortunately it didn't help much. Sebastian groaned in frustration and leaned his head against the wall. Although Ciel didn't give the impression of being averse to him, Sebastian was very uncomfortable about being hard because of him. Ciel hadn't even done anything specific, he was just himself, but that was what Sebastian was attracted to. Sebastian buried his face in his hands. He was a little ashamed of his body's reaction. After all, Ciel was still young and he had taken him under his protection. It didn't feel appropriate to desire him.

Thinking about it didn't help, Sebastian was still aroused. Maybe he should think of something erotically completely unattractive so his erection went away. For example beetles, they were disgusting. Sebastian tried to imagine beetles. Crawling on the floor or on a piece of grass. Beetles in the grass that climbed on flowers, flowers that looked wonderful in Ciel's hair, white flowers that matched Sebastian's shirt, which slipped down on Ciel's shoulders when Sebastian took off his clothes…. Not again! Sebastian could have slapped himself, he couldn't get his thoughts away from Ciel. With a sigh, he let his hand wander to his erection and gave in. As images of Ciel flooded his mind, he satisfied himself.

Afterwards he felt relieved, but also felt guilty. He had never cum so much as to the thought of Ciel. Sebastian dried himself off and put on his underpants and trousers, then walked into the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for both of them. He did that every day, but today he wanted it to be particularly good, sort of as an apology to Ciel.

He was mixing flour, milk, and sugar in a bowl to bake muffins when he heard Ciel's footsteps coming up behind him. The next moment he felt Ciel's arms that wrapped around his chest and Ciel's forehead that the fox leaned against his back. Sebastian smiled immediatly. He raised an arm so Ciel could slip underneath and nestle against Sebastian from the front, which he did immediately. He rubbed his head against Sebastian's chest, making his ears stand in the funniest angles. Sebastian laughed softly and kissed Ciel on the head, causing Ciel to make a pleased sound. He stayed snuggled up to him while Sebastian was making the muffin batter, chin resting on Ciel's head. It felt normal and familiar to be with Ciel, most mornings started like this. While the muffins were baking in the oven, Sebastian and Ciel were sitting on the floor in front of it, drinking tea. Ciel sat on Sebastian's lap and gazed expectantly at the slowly rising muffins through the glass window of the oven, while Sebastian pet his hair.

His conscience had calmed down since Ciel was so relaxed in his presence and he felt the fox was happy. Sebastian was thinking about it when he felt one of Ciel's hands run over his stomach. When he focused on the fox again, he noticed that Ciel's cheeks were blushing as he gazed at Sebastian's abs, while he chewed his lip. When he noticed Sebastian's eyes on him, Ciel looked away hastily and wanted to pull his hand back, but Sebastian held it in place. He leaned down to the fox until their lips brushed against each other. Ciel leaned forward shyly and pressed a kiss to Sebastian's mouth, which was immediately returned. In the end, the muffins were a bit burnt, but they didn't mind. Sebastian poured chocolate sauce over them and after they had cooled down, the two ate them sitting on the sofa.


	16. an idea

After he finished eating, Sebastian took his drawing paper and started sketching on it with a pencil. Ciel was sitting on his lap, leaning against Sebastian's chest and nibbling on the last muffin while he watched Sebastian sketch the large willow tree in which he had previously lived. All the while Sebastian rested his chin on Ciel's head. He enjoyed the familiar calm that came when the two of them were sitting thogether like this. It was raining quietly outside and Ciel's twitching ears tickled his face from time to time, while he traced the tree and its surroundings in detail on the sheet.

His thoughts wandered through all sorts of topics until Sebastian remembered something. He lowered the pen and looked out of the window. The rain wasn't too heavy, but it was still enough to provide a good reason to put Ciel in a long jacket and hat and then take him into town. Sebastian put the paper away, lifted Ciel off of his lap and stood up, then he went to his attic. A glance over his shoulder told him that Ciel was following him with a pout, annoyed that he had been set aside so suddenly. Sebastian smiled about that and knelt between the boxes of old stuff and things that he actually no longer needed, which he had stored here. After a short time of searching, he found a maroon rain cape that probably reached to his knees or Ciel's ankles, and a pair of rubber boots that he had worn as a teenager. Satisfied with his find, he turned to Ciel, who was also rummaging in the boxes, although in contrast to Sebastian without a goal. He found an old photo of Sebastian at the age of ten with his parents and looked at it with wide eyes. Sebastian embarrassedly took it away from him, but Ciel reached for it and Sebastian had to use his superior height to keep it out of the reach of the excited fox, who wanted it back.

"It's just an old photo, we don't even look happy in it, what do you want with it?", Sebastian asked irritated while Ciel jumped up at him. He didn't like to look at the old family photos. They made him sad because everyone in the pictures looked tense, as if they forced themselves to look like a happy family for the photo, even though they weren't in reality, which was in fact true. Either way Ciel didn't give up, so Sebastian gave in and handed it back to him. Ciel immediately held it up to his left eye and eyed the depicted younger Sebastian, his tail twichting excitedly. Even though Sebastian couldn't understand his enthusiasm, he let Ciel take the picture with them when they left the attic. Once in the bedroom, Ciel sat down on the bed, not taking his eyes off the photograph, while Sebastian searched around in his closet.

When he found everything he needed, he knelt down in front of Ciel and put his hands and chin on the fox's thighs. "Ciel, darling?", he asked. Immediatly Ciel's attention was back on him. He put the photo aside and stroked through Sebastian's black strands. Sebastian laughed softly and got up again, pulling Ciel with him. "I suggest we go on a little trip and get some things for you. What do you think?”, Sebastian murmured while helping Ciel in one of his dark blue sweaters and rolling the sleeves back so Ciel's hands weren't completely covered. The sweater was a little big even for Sebastian, so it reached over Ciel's knees. Then he helped Ciel into one of his boxer shorts and fastened it with a safety pin so it didn't slide down. Finally, he put Ciel in his raincape and rubber boots and put a wooly hat on his head. The coat was long enough to hide Ciel's tail and the ears were no longer visible. Sebastian nodded in satisfaction and put on his black coat and a pair of shoes, packed his wallet, phone and keys and led Ciel to the car.


	17. shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle reminder that this Story does not take place during the corona crises. Don't behave like Sebastian and Ciel do in this Story but wear facemasks and sanitize your Hands instead. Stay safe and healthy.

While driving, Ciel almost literally stuck his nose to the passenger window. He watched with wide eyes as the surroundings passed them. Sebastian smiled as he watched his reaction from the corner of his eyes. The fox stared fascinated at the rainy forest through which the road led and looked after every car that passed them. When they arrived in the city, Sebastian first parked in front of a supermarket.

Since it was a morning during the week, there weren't a lot of customers in the store, which Sebastian was very relieved about. Ciel was excited enough without many people around them. At first, he didn't dare leave Sebastian's side. He clung to his arm and turned his head curiously in every direction, while Sebastian pushed the shopping cart and let his attention drift back and forth between the products and Ciel. Over time, Ciel relaxed a little. He ran a bit ahead of Sebastian and looked at the products stacked on the shelves, but made sure that Sebastian did not leave his field of vision. Every time they came close to another customer, he immediately ran back to Sebastian and clung to his arm.

This behavior was inadvertently reinforced by a woman with whom Ciel almost collided when he turned a corner. When she saw Ciel, who immediately became shy, a smile of the kind people have when they face a cute child or baby animal spread across her face. "Hello, little one. Are you alone Did you get lost?”, she asked the fox, who stared at her with wide eyes, and leaned down to him. Ciel backed away, bumping backwards against Sebastian, who had noticed the situation and had approached them immediatly. "No, he's not alone.", Sebastian replied with a friendly smile and put an arm around Ciel, who immediately hugged him. The woman straightened up and smiled back. "That's good. That boy is so cute, take good care of him, he might get stolen.“, she joked and went away giggling quietly.

After this brief incident, Ciel didn't leave Sebastian's side much. Instead, he focused more on what Sebastian was actually doing. With his hands on the edge of the cart, he watched Sebastian put things into it until he understood the principle. He too started taking things off the shelves and putting them in the cart, which brought Sebastian into a slight conflict. On the one hand, he didn't want to discourage Ciel and buy Ciel everything he wanted, on the other hand, ten bars of chocolate, a dozen candy packs and as many caramel lollipops as Ciel could carry at once were a bit too much.

Sebastian was thinking about how to put the sweets away without completely disappointing his fox when he was taken out of his thoughts by the crackle of a candy pack. Just in time he could stop Ciel from opening the package. "No, Ciel, we have to pay for this before we can open it. You don't need to hiss at me, you can have that stuff later. Ciel, that's my finger.”, he tried to explain as he maneuvered the package out of Ciel's hands and back into the cart. While he did so, his index finger got caught between the teeth of the angry fox. He sighed and watched Ciel chew on his finger, one eyebrow raised. Ciel's anger quickly cleared and he looked up at Sebastian with a guilty look, stopped biting and apologetically licked the marks his teeth had left on Sebastian's skin. A smile spread across Sebastian's face, but quickly gave way to a surprised expression when he heard voices around him. When he looked around he noticed that the woman from earlier and two teenage girls were watching them and whispering about how cute Ciel was. "How adorable! And look at how patient his boyfriend is! What a cute couple! Aw!“, one of the three whispered not very quietly. Blushing, Sebastian turned away and went to the cash register with Ciel. "Whatever, I guess we will have a supply of sweets.", he murmured, looking at his full shopping cart.

After stowing the groceries in the trunk of the car, Sebastian took Ciel by the hand and led him to a shop selling clothes and shoes. This time, Ciel's reaction was similar to the one before, he let his gaze wander partly amazed, partly curious, but this time he didn't let go of Sebastian and didn't move away from him. Sebastian first headed for the shoe section.

He sat Ciel down on one of the chairs between the shelves and took off his rubber boots. Estimating Ciel's shoe size was a bit difficult, the only thing Sebastian could say for sure was that Ciel's feet were very small and petite. Sebastian got some shoes off of the shelves and helped Ciel into them until he finally found the right size, feeling a bit like the prince with Cinderella. Ciel let him do whatever without complaint, watching as Sebastian kept putting new pairs on his feet. "What do you think of these?", Sebastian asked again and again when he had the impression that a pair fit particularly well. When Ciel liked them, he wiggled his toes, if he didn't like them, he frowned and tried to toe them off again.

This way it was easy to choose a few pairs, in the end they decided on a pair of dark blue chucks, two different pairs of sandals with straps and a pair of black ankle boots with slightly high heels. While Sebastian put the other shoes back in their places, Ciel got up and walked to something that had caught his attention. Sebastian quickly followed him, worried that the fox was suddenly moving away, but stopped when he caught up with him. Ciel had taken a pair of black high heels off the shelf and was trying them on. He wobbled a little when he stood up in them, but that didn't seem to bother him much. He moved to stand in front of Sebastian and inspected the change of their hight difference that the heels caused. It didn't change much, Sebastian still towered over him and tried very hard not to laugh at Ciel's pouting expression, which he managed only moderately. Ciel kicked Sebastian against the shin and walked back to his rubber boots, stumbling and falling backwards in the process. Sebastian caught him before he could hit the floor. He held him in his arms as if they were danceing and grinned at Ciel, who blushed and hid his face in Sebastian's jacket.

After that the two went to the fashion section. Sebastian took a deep breath as he slowly walked through the rows of different clothes, holding Ciel's hand and carrying the shoeboxes under his arm. The variety was huge and he couldn't decide what to let Ciel try on first. There were so many things that Ciel was guaranteed to look great in, but the question was what he really needed. It was hard for him, but Sebastian would have to pull himself together so as not to buy too much. Actually, they were just looking for a few T-shirts and trousers that would be allowed to get grass stains on them or that could be replaced.

With this in mind, Sebastian headed for a corridor with a number of different T-shirts hanging on the clothes racks. Here it was easier to find out Ciel's size, he just had to take the smallest version of a shirt and done. The first T-shirts that Sebastian chose were quite modest. He took three with dark and white horizontal stripes and a black one with a small golden crescent moon on the chest. At first he didn't notice that half of them were crop tops, but that didn't bother him, on the contrary.

When they came to a collection of pastel blue t-shirts, Sebastian discovered that many of the printed shirts would fit Ciel wonderfully. The first one he saw showed a tea bag and had the inscription "Teashirt", which made Sebastian laugh and he was certain, it was a good fit for Ciel, as was the next one that he saw, on which a chibi fox holding a heart was depicted. After a brief consideration, Sebastian found that the latter was more of a t-shirt for himself. While Sebastian was searching for it in his size, Ciel looked through the other T-shirts and also picked one. When Sebastian read “I love my Daddy” on it, he almost choked on his own saliva, but he didn't protest when Ciel put it over his arm with the other shirts, even though he didn't want to imagine how Grell and William would react if they saw Ciel sitting on Sebastian's lap in this shirt. He quickly pulled Ciel away from the pastel blue T-shirts. On the way to the changing rooms he discovered a T-shirt with the words "Kitsune was here" for himself and one that said "Never not hungry" for Ciel in the corner with black T-shirts and a white one on which "cute as f#*k” was written, which in his opinion applied exactly to Ciel. Ciel himself also brought a very well fitting red shirt with the inscription “I'm not short! My height is just cute.” Then they collected a few short jeans and entered one of the changing rooms.

Ciel patiently let Sebastian undress and redress him, but after a while he got a bit annoyed and fidgeted a little. Nonetheless, he held out his arms to any shirt that Sebastian pulled over his head as if he were a dress-up doll. Everything they had chosen fit Ciel perfectly and looked incredibly good on him. The shirts hugged wonderfully to his body and allowed his slim waist to be visible. Sebastian especially liked the crop tops, they fit him like a glove and showed a bit of Ciel's flat stomach, enough that he could see his navel. While Ciel spinned in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection, Sebastian had the bad feeling that from now on he would wake up with a problem even more often. When he tried to help Ciel in one of the shorts, he faced a different type of problem though. The tail could not really be put through one of the leg holes and letting it hang over the waistband did not work either, because then you could not pull the trousers all the way up. Sebastian decided to buy the trousers anyway and make holes in the right place from which Ciel's tail could easily get out.

After Ciel was back in his original outfit and Sebastian paid, they went back to the car and stowed the shopping bags in the back seat. Sebastian was about to get back into the car when he noticed that something had caught Ciel's attention. He locked the car, took Ciel by the hand and let him lead him to the window of a shop. Ciel was fascinated by the display of books and soft toys and couldn't look away until Sebastian took him inside the shop with a smile. Ciel's eyes widened when he saw the long, high rows of bookshelves. At first he didn't know where to look first, he turned his head in every direction and tried to look at the whole bookstore at once. After a while he shook off the first surprise and he started to walk, with Sebastian following him and watching his cheerful expression with a warm feeling in his heart.

The two of them wandered past the piles of books without a destination. Ciel picked up one every now and then, looked at the cover and flipped through it, but generally just seemed overwhelmed, not looking for anything specific. Curious to see if he could find something that Ciel would like, Sebastian began to steer him in certain directions and occasionally handed him a book. The way that Ciel sometimes looked at a page longer and his gaze slid along the line and jumped back again, led Sebastian to his surprise to conclude that he could read.

Sebastian's suggestions were well received by Ciel. He was very interested in the Sherlock Holmes books and let Sebastian take the whole series with him, he also wanted the Harry Potter books and a book with a collection of fairy tales by Oscar Wilde and one with stories by Edgar Allan Poe that Sebastian gave him immediately excited him. While Sebastian was putting the piles of books in one of the customer baskets because there were gradually more books than he could carry, Ciel moved away from him. Sebastian quickly ran after him for fear of losing him in the shop, but he only had to turn a corner to catch up with him. Ciel stood in front of a display of toys and plushies of the Funtom company, his back turned to Sebastian, and looked at something he was holding. Sebastian approached him and said Ciel's name softly, upon which the fox turned to face him and held the object in his hands in front of Sebastian's face. It was a dark blue rabbit plushie that wore a vest and bow tie and had an eye patch on its right eye. “This is Bitter Rabbit, Funtom's mascot. Do you like it?”, Sebastian asked. In response, Ciel put his arms around it, hugged it and looked at Sebastian with his cutest puppy dog eyes. Sebastian sighed with a smile. "Of course you can have it.", he said, holding out his hand to Ciel, which the fox immediately took, and went to the cash register with him.


	18. Grell's help with fashion

When they got back in the car, Sebastian checked his watch. It had been a few hours since they left in the morning. At first he thought it was time to finally drive home, but then he remembered something and he drove the car further into the city. He stopped in front of the shop called "Hopkins' and Spears' Tailor shop" took Ciel and the bag with the new clothes out of the car and entered the shop.

At the moment there was no clientele and there was no sign of the staff either. "Hello? Grell, are you there?”, Sebastian shouted a little unsettled. Usually Grell could always be found in the shop she ran with Nina Hopkins at this time of day. Sebastian stopped a little hesitant and looked at Ciel, who was staring at the many clothes and mannequins around them. "Actually, I could do it on my own.", Sebastian thought aloud and wanted to leave when he heard Grell's voice. "What can you do on your own? I mean, of course you can basically do everything, you just have to believe in yourself, but what exactly are you talking about?”, she wanted to know as she approached them from the back of the shop. When she saw Ciel, she immediately started smiling broadly and quickened her steps.

"Hello honey! How's my favorite little fox doing?”, she asked, petting Ciel's head, which he allowed this time. Sebastian cleared his throat to get her attention back. "He's fine, but maybe he's a little tired because I was shopping with him. I bought some new clothes for him and...“, Sebastian explained, but was interrupted by Grell. "You bought him clothes and didn't even take me with you? And you didn't come here right away? How dare you?”, she scolded and crossed her arms offended as she shot Sebastian an angry glare over the rim of her glasses. Embarrassed Sebastian avoided eye contact. "Well, now we're here. And I hoped you would help me adjust the trousers I bought for Ciel.”, he muttered sheepishly.

The thought of dressing Ciel instantly dispelled Grell's anger and replaced him it enthusiasm. Grell's eyes sparkled excitedly and she immediately grabbed a tape measure from the table. "Sure! I'm happy to help you! Just when you're mentioning it, I already have a dozen ideas for clothes that I could sew together for Ciel!”, she shouted and wanted to start taking Ciel's measurements, but Sebastian stopped her. "I'm not here for you to design something for him, as wonderful as it surely would look on Ciel. If I wanted tailor-made, high-quality fashion for him from qualitative fabrics, I would have come to you straight away. But what I wanted to get him stuff that he can wear every day and that can get stains without it being a problem. I just wanted your help in making holes in his new trousers so he has no problems with his tail.“, Sebastian explained.

Grell pouted and nodded, indicating that she understood as she rolled the tape back up. "All right. But at some point I will tailor something for him. But now come with me.“, she said and led Sebastian and Ciel to the back of the shop, where there was a room where the employees could have their lunch break or relax when there was no customer. Grell made an inviting gesture towards the large sofa as she walked to the small kitchenette. "I just made coffee. Do you want one too, Sebastian? ”, she called over her shoulder as she poured herself a cup. Sebastian sat down on the sofa and rummaged in the bag for the trousers. "No, thanks." he replied absentmindedly.

"What about you, deary? Do you want a coffee?”, Grell asked a little quieter. Sebastian immediately looked up at Ciel, who was standing next to Grell and sniffed her cup with interest. Sebastian jumped up, ran to the two and lifted Ciel into the air by the hips. "No! No coffee for Ciel!”, he shouted, holding Ciel, who fidgeted and made grabby hands in the direction of Grell's cup, away from Grell. Grell raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. "But ...", she started confused, but Sebastian just shook his head. "Believe me. No coffee.”, he repeated. Grell nodded slowly, without really understanding why, but asked no further.

Instead, she sat down on the sofa and looked through the things Sebastian had bought. "Well, I forgive you. All of this is guaranteed to look great on Ciel.”, Grell admitted conciliatively and took a sip of coffee, leaning away from Sebastian and Ciel who had sat next to her to avoid Ciel's hands reaching for her cup. "Indeed. But as I said, there is a problem with the trousers because of his tail. I thought with the help of the sewing utensils that you have here, I could make holes in the place where his tail is so it can easily get out.“, Sebastian explained and held Ciel back by the hood of his raincoat. Grell nodded, but said nothing, instead she stared into the distance, as she always did when she had an idea.

After a moment, she turned her attention back to the two. "I think that's a good idea. Here, you can start marking the right spot and I'll get scissors and such.", Grell suggested, smiling mysteriously. The look on her face made Sebastian suspicious, but he said nothing about it, but took the pencil, which Grell handed him. Grell got up and took Ciel by the hand. "Come on, honey. I'll get you something sweet while I'm at it. I guess your protector doesn't mind that.“, she squealed cheerfully, pulled Ciel up, grabbed the bag with the T-shirts and disappeared into another room with both before Sebastian could say anything else.

Sebastian sighed, took off his coat and turned to the trousers and tried to guess where the hole was best, although he could not concentrate. Grell was a good, long-time friend whom he trusted, but he still didn't like to see her pull Ciel away from him. He massaged his temples and tried to calm his nervousness while he waited. After all, the two would be right back, Grell just had some idea she wanted to pursue, she wouldn't do anything harmful to Ciel. It should be possible for Sebastian to be separated from Ciel for five minutes without breaking out in a sweat of fear from sheer worry that something might happen to his fox. But that was easier thought than done. When he heard the foot steps of Ciel and Grell coming closer, he exhaled in relief.

When the two came in, Sebastian's eyes widened and he had to pull himself together so as not to start drooling at the sight of Ciel. "Well, what are you saying now, Bassy? It's a solution too, isn't it?”, Grell asked cheerfully as she pushed Ciel in front of her. The fox looked a bit confused and looked doubtfully down at himself and at Sebastian, whose reaction he did not quite understand and he cocked his head questioningly. Grell had put Ciel in the black crop top and put on a blue plaid pleated skirt on him and rounded it off with a pair of dark blue, knee high socks. Ciel looked incredibly good, his pretty legs were accentuated perfectly and the top was snug to him. When he spinned in front of Sebastian, he noticed how Ciel's slightly raised tail lifted the skirt a little with it. His tail definitely had freedom in the mini skirt.

Grell giggled as she watched Sebastian undress Ciel with his eyes. She decided to torture him a little more. "And that's not all! I noticed that you didn't get any underwear for Ciel at all. And then I thought I would do the work for you. You know, if you put him in a pair of low waisted panties, his tail can just stick out over it.”, she said, lifting Ciel's skirt like a stage curtain. Sebastian had to gulp hard and cross his legs when he saw the panties that Grell had put on Ciel. They were really minimalistic and were made of blue silk with a black lace edge and when Ciel turned around Sebastian could see the perfect shape of his cute butt as well as if he wasn't wearing anything, not that much of it was hidden by the panties in the first place. Grell grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "Well, what do you think?", she asked as if she didn't knew. Sebastian swallowed hard and tried unsuccessfully to tear his eyes away from Ciel's perfect body. "I'm definitely going to die by blood loss.", he murmured, wiping some blood from under his nose.


	19. sewing and tickling

With his ears flattened and a worried expression on his face, Ciel carefully wiped the blood off Sebastian's nose with a tissue. He was sitting on Sebastian's lap, his knees to the left and right of Sebastian's hips and the mini skirt shoved up a bit, which did not improve Sebastian's nosebleeding. Grell watched them with one hand on her cheek, the other holding out a pack of tissues to Ciel. "Your fox babe is as caring as he is lovely, Bassy!", she cooed. Sebastian could only nod.

Grell was about to say more when her phone beeped. When she glanced at the message that had just arrived, she became nervous. "Looks like I have to go, otherwise I'll be late for my appointment. I'll leave you alone for a maximum of an hour, alright? You can use the time and there will be no customers anyway.“, Grell explained embarrassed and tapped her index fingers together. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "What if Nina comes here?", he asked, but Grell waved it off. "She's got a free day today.", she said, grabbing her red patent leather handbag and red raincoat. "Do you need anything else? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know!”, she chuckled with an ambiguous smile and dodged the sofa cushion that Sebastian threw at her. Grell waved to the two of them, then she was gone.

Sebastian sighed and stuffed a piece of tissue into each of his nostrils. He scratched Ciel behind the ears for a while, then he straightened up, sat the fox on the sofa next to him, and got to work. Ciel curled up next to him and started to doze with his head resting on Sebastian's lap. Meanwhile Sebastian started to mark the right place on the trousers, cut out a hole in each and sewed the edges to not loose threads. Grell had already laid out everything he needed for this on the coffee table so he could do all the work without having to get up.

When he was done, he leaned back and pulled the tissues out of his nose that had stopped bleeding. He couldn't remember the sight of anyone ever making him so excited that he actually got nosebleeds like an anime character, but Ciel was special after all. As if he knew Sebastian was thinking of him, Ciel sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sebastian smiled, rubbed under his chin with a smile and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "Well, are you feeling reenergized?", Sebastian wanted to know and let his hand wander into Ciel's hair. “Poor fox, got dragged through shops all day and then put in a mini skirt by Grell. And now I'm still not leaving you alone, but want you to try on one of the trousers so I know if I did it right, I'm sorry.", he murmured.

In fact, it didn't seem to bother Ciel much when Sebastian took off his skirt. When he then helped him into one of the trousers, Sebastian was relieved to find that it was a perfect fit. Ciel's tail could easily get out of the hole that was in the right place. Sebastian nodded, satisfied with himself. "Wonderful. Come on, Ciel, you'll get something sweet as a thank you for your patience.”, he said, getting up and walking to the kitchenette with Ciel following him. He searched the cupboards but couldn't find the cocoa mixture he'd seen here the last time he visited, so he couldn't make Ciel hot chocolate as he intended.

"Well, then I'll just buy you one in a café. Okay?”, he said, running a hand along Ciel's waist. Ciel made a chuckling noise and put his hands over his mouth as he trembled under Sebastian's touch. Sebastian took his hand away and watched with irritation as Ciel immediately calmed down again. Worried that he might have hurt him accidentally, Sebastian carefully examined Ciel's waist, but couldn't find any sore spots or the like. When his fingertips lightly touched Ciel's skin, Ciel started chuckling again and his tail whipped back and forth. Sebastian wanted to pull his hands back again, but Ciel leaned into the touch and started to laugh

Sebastian blinked in confusion. His gaze slid to Ciel's waist, then to Ciel's face, and back again. "So you're ticklish?", he asked in surprise and stroked Ciel's skin for a try. The fox giggled loudly and wiggled back and forth, which made Sebastian grin. He began to tickle Ciel extensively, his hands wandering under Ciel's shirt and across his stomach. Ciel doubled up laughing and clung to Sebastian's shirt.

It wasn't long before the two of them were lying on the floor together. Ciel gasped for breath and giggled a little more while Sebastian held him in his arms and supported himself on his elbows so his body weight did not press Ciel down. With a smile, he gazed at Ciel's pretty face and placed a few kisses on it. Ciel immediately placed his hands on Sebastian's cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips, which Sebastian immediately returned and deepened.

The two broke apart when they heard a click and looked up in surprise at Grell, who had just come back and was holding her phone. "I knew it! You two are so cute!“, she chirped happily. Blushing, Sebastian got up and pulled Ciel up with him. "Grell, don't you do anything with this photo. Don't show that around.”, he hissed and put Ciel back in his raincoat and wooly hat. Grell waved it off. "Of course I won't. The only one who gets to see this is William, you probably don't mind that, do you.”, she reassured him. Sebastian helped Ciel into the blue chucks and put on his own jacket, then he took the shopping bag in one hand and Ciel's hand in the other. He gave Grell one last nervous look, then left the shop with Ciel.


	20. a chat in a café

The rain outside had gotten a bit stronger and Sebastian hurried as he put the bag back in the car and led Ciel to a café. There weren't many customers at the moment, so they didn't have to wait in line. Sebastian ordered a hot chocolate for Ciel and a tea for himself and paid immediately. While the two were waiting for their order to be prepared, Sebastian suddenly felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. When he turned around he saw a young man with brown, messy hair and glasses who was grinning at him.

"Mister Michaelis? Hey, it really is you!”, the young man exclaimed. His face definitely looked familiar, but Sebastian couldn't figure out why. "Do you remember me? I’m Ronald Knox, you’ve been teaching me for a couple of years. I was a hopless case in Latin and French until you came to Weston. Without you, I probably wouldn't have managed to graduate. It's so cool that I meet you here.“, the young man explained and shook Sebastian's hand. "Oh yes, Knox, I remember. How are you?”, Sebastian replied with a smile. It was rare for him to meet former students, and even when it did happen, they usually didn't greet each other. "Great. I have started studying at the university that you recommended to me. But I don't have a lecture today, so I had the opportunity to take a trip here and visit some friends. I didn't know this was the area you moved to. It made me totally sad when I heard that you quit teaching and moved away. I didn't think I would ever see you again. You absolutely have to tell me how things were going for you. Come on, sit with me.”, Ronald said excitedly.

Sebastian took the tray with the drinks and followed Ronald along with Ciel to his table. The two sat opposite Ronald in a comfortable armchair, Ciel in Sebastian's lap. The fox eyed Ronald somewhat shyly, but remained calm, seeing how relaxed Sebastian was with him. Ronald gave Ciel a friendly wave. "How are you, little one? I'm Ronald and you?”, he asked, but Ciel just cocked his head. Irritated, Ronald looked at Sebastian, who handed the fox the cup of hot chocolate. "His name is Ciel and he doesn't speak. That is not meant rudely.“, Sebastian explained and took his cup of tea. "I see. Is he your...", Ronald started and looked at the way Ciel made himself comfortable on Sebastian's lap. Sebastian cleared his throat in embarrassment. "He lives with me.", he said, as if that would clarify it. "Aha.", Ronald mumbled and took a sip of his cappuchino.

He put his cup down again and leaned back in his chair. "But tell me now, Mister Michaelis, what brought you here?", he wanted to know curiously. "You know, now that I'm not your teacher anymore, it feels strange to be adressed like this. You can call me by first name which is Sebastian.”, Sebastian suggested and rested his chin on Ciel's head, which the fox leaned against him. Ronald nodded and grinned. "Now, where do I start.", Sebastian thought aloud.

“After working as a teacher for some years and devoting myself to the students every day of the week, almost every week of the year, I got really exhausted at some point. I spent all my time in the classroom, even my free time I lost to preparing lessons, and in between I had to take care of the students themselves if they had problems or their parents overwhelmed them. It was stressful and tiring and I had no energy left for myself. I was tired all the time and didn't want to go on like this. In order to have breaks in between, I started leaving on weekends and pursuing my hobby, painting. I just put paints, brushes and a canvas in the trunk of my car and drove until I was somewhere in nature and then I painted until I felt better. It was so helpful that I decided to quit my job and instead do what I had dreamed of already as a child, namely buying a house in the forest and becoming a painter. At first it was difficult to get used to the change and I had trouble getting myself to relax, but now I feel much better and since I also have Ciel with me, I am as happy as I never thought I would be someday. Well, and here I am now.“, Sebastian told him.

Ronald listened carefully and kept nodding. At the end of the story he had a grin on his face. "That's so nice. I had no idea that the school burned you out like this, but looking back, I can imagine it. But I think it's really cool that you could make your dream come true. This is great for you, I'm really happy to hear this.“, he commented cheerfully. Sebastian smiled and played with Ciel's hair with one hand. It felt good to tell someone how he had been back then. "Tell me, Sebastian, your house in the forest, did you buy that from old Tanaka?", Ronald asked curiously and Sebastian nodded. Ronald grinned broadly. "That's cool. I was just at the farm that he has with his four adopted children and I visited them. But well, somehow it was clear that you got it from Brian Tanaka, after all, he owns a lot of forest in the area so if anyone here sells houses in the forest, it's him. Anyway, I would really like to see some of your pictures.”, Ronald added, so Sebastian told him about the exhibition organized by William.

The two then chatted for a while about Ronald's studies and the cricket team he had joined while Ciel drank his hot chocolate and the rest of Sebastian's tea. After a while Sebastian ordered another piece of cake for Ciel, which brought Ronald's attention back to the fox. "Is his hair dyed?", he wanted to know and looked at the soft strands that came out from under Ciel's wooly hat. Sebastian shook his head and handed Ciel a fork. "I too was surprised by what an unusual hair color it is. I've never seen anyone with naturally blue-gray hair.”, he replied, brushing a few strands out of Ciel's face. "I did, but it was quite some time ago. A colleague and friend of my father had exactly this hair color, precisely that shade.”, Ronald told him.

Sebastian looked at him in confusion. "Really?", he asked surprised. He had assumed that it was possible for Ciel to have this hair colour because he was not human. Ronald nodded and frowned as he tried to remember. "Yes, the guy was called Vincent and was a little bit eccentric or something. It's been ages, but before that, like my father, he worked in the management of Funtom until he decided after a business trip to Japan to move to a house in this area and work in home office. Crazy guy.”, Ronald explained and laughed. Something about this story made Sebastian startled. He gazed attentivly at Ronald so he kept talking. "Nobody really knows why he decided to do this, but there have been a few rumors. It's been a long time, so I can hardly remember it, but what I remember is that most believed that he found the love of his life in Japan and they had a child. I don't know if there's anything true about that.“, Ronald continued.

An idea formed in Sebastian's head for which he scolded himself because it seemed ridiculous to him. This Vincent could hardly have anything to do with Ciel, no matter how often he was in Japan, where kitsunes came from, but the hair colour was a strange coincidence. Ciel had inherited almost all of his looks from his mother, but not his hair color. "That sounds interesting. Now that you're talking about him, I remember I once knew a man named Vincent who could fit this description. I had no contact with him for ages. Do you happen to know exactly where I can find him?”, Sebastian lied. He didn't think it was likely that he was on the right track here, but the thought couldn't be shaken off.

Strangely enough, Ronald fell silent and lowered his gaze. Sebastian wondered if he hadn't lied well enough, but then he got his answer. "Well, I guess in a cemetery. The fact is that Vince died in a car accident three years ago. Sorry.“, Ronald explained and rubbed his neck nervously. Sebastian's mouth opened and closed again and he just nodded. They talked for a while about other, rather insignificant topics before they said goodbye and Sebastian and Ciel drove back home.


	21. just couple things

The day after Sebastian and Ciel had visited her in the tailoring shop, Grell got up a little later than usual. Today she didn't have to show up in the shop as early as usual and could therefore afford to take a long shower and then take her time at breakfast. With her hair still wet and herself wrapped in her fluffy red bathrobe, she came into the kitchen humming quietly while William was making coffee and kissed him on the cheek. "Good morning, my darling.", she greeted him, hugging him in full of a good mood. "Mm", Will replied, leaning his cheek against Grell's head. It took a lot of time for him to fully wake up in the morning, but Grell didn't mind. She thought it was cute how confused he was in the morning.

While the two were sitting at the table having breakfast together, Grell scrolled through her phone. "Willybae, do you remember how we recently talked about how happy Sebastian is now with Ciel and I told you that he fell in love with the little fox?", she asked. William thought about that while buttering his bread. "Mhm", he finally agreed, stirring his coffee with the butter knife. Grell grinned and showed him her phone. "Well, well. Apparently I was right.”, she giggled. William narrowed his eyes, adjusted his glasses and looked at the picture of Sebastian and Ciel lying on the floor kissing. "Oh.", he said after a while. "How did you get the opportunity to take that picture?”, he added, took a sip of coffee and grimaced at the taste.

Grell put down her phone again. "Oh, that was purely coincidental. I wasn't waiting or hoping to bust into a situation like that, ok?”, she murmured sheepishly. William stared at his coffee in disgust, but still took a sip for the sake of consuming caffeine. "Did you send the picture to Sebastian?", he asked. Grell immediately grabbed her phone again and searched for Sebastian's contact. "No, but right away.", she said. William nodded and bit into his bread. "Somehow it was obvious that Bastian was into him, you're right. Cute, these two.”, he murmured and chewed.

While the two were talking, Sebastian was just waking up. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was lying on his side, spooning Ciel, who was lying with his back against Sebastian's chest and held his new plushie. Sebastian smiled as he looked at Ciel's relaxed, sleeping face. The little one looked as innocent and beautiful as an angel. Sebastian stuck his nose into Ciel's hair and took a deep breath. He wanted to stay there, but his phone beeped behind him on his nightstand. With a sigh, he broke away from Ciel, sat up and looked at the new message that had just come in. It was from Grell and contained yesterday's picture.

Sebastian stared at it partly irritated, partly delighted. He hadn't known the two looked so much like lovers, but this picture could have been from a romantic film and would likely be the beginning of a sex scene in that case. Sebastian shook his head over himself and looked back at Ciel. He couldn't resist bending over him and taking a picture of him snuggled in the covers, sleeping happily and driving Sebastian mad with his cuteness. Sebastian sighed and put the phone away, got up and went to his closet.

It would be nice if he and Ciel were officially a couple, but he had no idea if the fox really wanted that. After all, he still didn't say a word and therefore couldn't express his opinion on the subject. Sebastian put on a pair of jeans and one of his white shirts, one of which Ciel was wearing at the moment too. Shortly before the two of them had gone to bed the day before, he had exchanged his clothes for Sebastian's shirt and buttoned it up completely wrong. While Sebastian buttoned his shirt properly, his eyes wandered to the part of the closet that was now for Ciel's clothes. Grell had put some more in their shopping bag. Among other things, a few more mini-skirts and knee-high socks and a selection of pretty panties like the ones she had put on Ciel the previous day.

Sebastian turned back to the bed they shared and decided to let Ciel sleep. Somehow, Ciel had claimed the right side of the bed. That didn't make much of a difference, since the two of them were cuddling all the time while they slept, but still the thought that Ciel owned a part of the bed and thus an essential part of Sebastian's life felt somehow good. On the bedside table on the right stood Ciel's tin box, in the opened lid of which the picture of Ciel's mother and the picture of Sebastian as a child, which Ciel had taken from the attic, next to each other and behind the box would now be Bitter Rabbit's place when Ciel wasn't holding it in his arms.

Sebastian went downstairs with a smile. Thanks to the pictures in Ciel's box his thoughts were drawn back to the photos in his phone. His gallery now contained a lot of pictures of Ciel and Sebastian had the idea to save them on his computer in case his phone got lost or the like. While Sebastian, sitting at the living room table, started up his computer, Ciel came down the stairs. When Sebastian looked up at him, a huge smile spread across his face. Ciel had dressed himself in some of the clothes Grell had given them. He was wearing a white shirt in his size and a light blue mini skirt, plus pink stockings that went up to just above his knees and a pink hooded jacket with pompons on the cords that was much too big on Ciel. When he raised his hand and waved to Sebastian, it couldn't be seen at all because the sleeves were so long that they hid Ciel's hands.

Sebastian spread his arms and immediately Ciel ran to him and sat down on his lap. He pressed a kiss on Sebastian's cheek and hugged him, which Sebastian immediately returned. "Good morning, my darling.", Sebastian murmured, scratching Ciel behind the ears. As he hugged Ciel, the details of this morning ran through his mind again. Ciel's part of the shared closet, Ciel's part of the bed, the photos, a good morning kiss, those were all things you could see in married couples like Grell and William. Sebastian blushed and hid his face in Ciel's hair. Maybe the two were already a couple and he just hadn't noticed. Although that shouldn't be possible. While he was still thinking about it, Ciel kissed him lovingly on the mouth. Sebastian's thoughts melted away when he returned the kiss.


	22. cake

After Sebastian had saved the photos on his computer, he used the opportunity to do some research about foxes in mythology, or kitsunes in particular. As far as European myths were concerned, he found primarily fables in which foxes are portrayed as clever and cunning. However, he could not find a mythical creature that is partly fox and partly human. When Sebastian researched on kitsunes, he found the same information over and over. As William had said, Kitsunes were said to be shapeshifters, could do some magic, and grew nine tails. Otherwise, it was said that foxes, especially white ones, were the familiars of the goddess Inari and could bring great luck as well as great harm. What irritated Sebastian, however, was that legends were mentioned in which a vixen in human form married a man and, after her true nature was revealed, left him and their children.

Sebastian turned the computer off and thought about all of this while scratching Ciel's ears. It was impossible for Ciel's family to be in a scenario like in the legends, after all, Rachel's ears and tail could be seen in the photo, so if Ciel's father was human, he knew that she was a vixen all along, or he was a fox too. However, legends were rarely true. Real kitsunes were for sure different from the ones in stories. To find out something about the real ones, one would have to ask one or someone who knew about them. Sebastian wondered if he knew any Japanese people who might know something about the subject. The first person that occurred to him was William, who was partly Japanese, which was why his middle name was Takeda, but William had never lived in Japan.

Sighing in frustration, Sebastian slumped back on the sofa and gazed at Ciel's face. "Maybe I should just put up with not knowing what you are. It's not that important and nobody can tell me anyway.”, he muttered still in thoughts. Ciel stretched and nestled against Sebastian's chest, making a comfortable sound. As Sebastian stroked his head, his gaze wandered through the cottage. It was a nice place to live, he had been lucky to find it. When Sebastian had this thought he sat up abruptly and slapped his hand against his forehead. "I'm so stupid!", he said to Ciel, who looked at him confused, "Tanaka is half Japanese, he lived in Japan for a long time and besides he sold a house to this Vincent! As Ronald said, he's the only one in the area who sells houses in the forest, so Vincent must have got it from him. I can find out something about both topics if I ask him.”

Ciel's ears tilted in confusion as Sebastian lifted him up in the air and laughed. "That's wonderful! I can find out more and combine that with work. You know, the Tanaka family has a farm with sheep and horses that I painted before, I could do that again. On the occasion, I just bring something to eat and say hello, I do that sometimes, it won't come across as strange when I talk to the old man then.", Sebastian explained while he carried Ciel into the kitchen.

He put Ciel down on the counter and gathered the ingredients for a chocolate cake and the needed kitchen utensils. “Every time I'm there, Finny asks me to bring a cake again. Don't worry, Ciel, of course you'll get some of it, too.”, Sebastian told him. While Sebastian started to whisk butter and sugar together, Ciel watched him with attentively pricked ears. His tail twitched excitedly, like every time he saw Sebastian baking. Sebastian was just beating an egg at the edge of the bowl when Ciel slipped off the counter and squeezed under his arm. Sebastian smiled when Ciel peeked curiously into the bowl.

He gently pulled the fox back by his hood until he leaned back against Sebastian's chest and wanted to continue, but Ciel didn't want to be stopped from looking closely at the dough. "If you want to help me, go ahead.", Sebastian said, rolling Ciel's sleeves back so his hands were free. He showed Ciel how to break an egg and then gave Ciel one which he didn't manage to open at first before accidentally throwing half of it into the bowl. Embarrassed, he watched Sebastian take the egg shell pieces out of it and throw it in the organic waste. Sebastian pressed a kiss on Ciel's flattened ears and took his hands into his own. He directed Ciel's hands so the two added the remaining eggs without any problems.

Then Sebastian poured the right amount of flour into a measuring cup and poured a pack of baking soda on top of it. He asked Ciel to pour some of the flour into the bowl while he himself stored away the opened package. When he turned back to Ciel, he couldn't help laughing. Ciel had a thin layer of flour on his face and had spread some of it over the counter. He shook his head in exasperation to get rid of the flour, which didn't help much. Sebastian took a damp rag, held Ciel's chin with his thumb and index finger, and gently wiped his face clean. "Just what are you doing, honey?", he muttered amused. Ciel didn't find that funny, however, and bit Sebastian's finger.

To avoid more accidents, Sebastian sat Ciel back down onto the work surface and did the mixing himself, adding milk and cocoa powder. However, Ciel was allowed to help grease the cake tin with a brush with butter. While Sebastian poured the dough into the tin, Ciel poked a finger in it and licked the dough off of it. He obviously liked it very much, but before he could help himself to more, Sebastian had already put the cake tin into the oven. He set the alarm clock to 35 minutes and used the time to load paints, brushes, the easel and a canvas into the trunk of his car, while Ciel sat in front of the oven and watched the dough rise. When the cake was done, Sebastian cut it into pieces. He put some of it aside for Ciel, and packed up the rest of it.


	23. horses

The drive to the Tanaka family farm did not take long. The country road first led past the pastures that belonged to their property, and Sebastian steered the car onto a dirt road between the pasture fence and the edge of the forest. He drove on for a while until he got to a place where he had a good view of the meadow and parked there. As Sebastian set up his easel, Ciel peeked through the wooden bars of the fence with wide eyes and attentivly pricked ears. All seven of Tanaka's horses were grazing in the pasture not far from where they parked.

Sebastian started painting the meadow and the sky, while Ciel watched him for a while. At some point the fox apparently got too bored and he moved away from Sebastian. When Sebastian looked around for the fox, he noticed that Ciel had climbed through the fence and joined the horses. He watched them at a distance at first, but the animals were completely relaxed in his presence and that didn't change when he got closer. Sebastian lowered the brush and watched Ciel carefully reach out for a mare and pet it. Since he had been here many times and had ridden the horses sometimes, Sebastian knew that they were all calm and easy to get along with, but he did not know what Ciel thought of horses.

The smile that spread across Ciel's face as he gradually pet each horse spoke clearly for itself though, which made Sebastian exhale in relief. He drew the horses in his picture and painted a small, blue-gray fox to them, while Ciel ran around the meadow with the two foals. Sebastian left his picture in the undetailed state it was in, he could improve it later, and set off to join Ciel, who was now sitting on the floor and feeding tufts of grass to one of the mares.

"Well, are you having fun?", he asked with a smile as he sat down next to Ciel, who immediately leaned against him, and kissed his forehead. A second mare came over to them and sniffed Sebastian's head. "This is Betty, my personal favorite of the seven.", Sebastian explained to Ciel while petting the reddish-brown mare with the black mane. Then he pointed to the horse that Ciel was feeding, which was the same coat color but with a light tail and a light mane. "And this is her sister Alice. Unlike Betty, she doesn't regularly try to bite my head off, right?”, he said, pushing Betty's mouth away from his hair before she could nibble on it. Betty and Alice withdrew and continued to graze.

Ciel got up and walked to a gray mare and pet her, though he got ignored by her. "This is Victoria. She is the oldest here. And she is the mother of Rose, which in turn makes her the grandmother of Sascha and Othello.”, Sebastian explained, pointing to a red mare, on whose udder the two foals were drinking. Ciel looked at them and smiled, then walked back to Sebastian, took him by the hand and pulled at it to get him to stand up, which Sebastian did, of course.

Ciel pointed at the brown horse that Sebastian had not yet introduced to him and looked at him questioningly. “This is Arthur, the father of Sascha and Othello. I don't think he likes me very much. Let's not go to him.”, Sebastian explained and gave Arthur a hostile look, even though the horse was only grazing like the others. Ciel listened to Sebastian, but was then distracted by Alice rolling on the ground. He laughed at how she awkwardly raised her hooves into the air. When she was done, Alice just lay on the ground and Ciel sat down next to her and half lay on top of her. He stroked her fur and made pleased noises as she turned her head and sniffed him. Her soft nose rubbed over Ciel's hair, which made him giggle.

Sebastian smiled and petted Betty as he watched Ciel snuggle with the horse. It was such a peaceful picture of him scratching her and lying there relaxed and just enjoying it. Ciel shifted his position until he was on Alice's back, which didn't bother the mare one bit. Sebastian almost suspected that she hardly felt him lying on her at all because he was such a light weight. In any case, she could easily carry people who weighed twice of Ciel. After some time, Alice finally got up again. Ciel stayed on her back, sat up and held on to her mane. He seemed a little unsure about what to do up on top of the horseback now. Since Alice was just continuing to graze as if nothing had happened, he just sat there and let his legs dangle.

While Sebastian was still enjoying the peaceful scene and thinking about having to find an opportunity to teach Ciel how to ride, a motorcycle suddenly drove along the country road. The engine roared loudly and the horses got startled and winced, a few of them ran further away from the road. Sebastian immediately ran in the direction of Ciel and Alice, out of fear that Ciel could get thrown off and injured, but Ciel could hold on and instead it was Sebastian who hit the floor roughly. When he started running, he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings and hadn't noticed that he accidentally got in the way of Arthur, who narrowly avoided Sebastian, but nevertheless knocked him over while galloping past him.

Sparks danced in front of Sebastian's eyes as he landed sideways on the hard ground. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned in pain. As if from afar he could hear Ciel screaming fearfully and immediately he tried to sit up and get to him, worried that something might have happened to Ciel. But Ciel just jumped off of Alice' back and ran to him, still calling for him. Sebastian rubbed his head and sat up, trying to ignore the pain, which wasn't easy. Ciel knelt down in front of him and clawed away at Sebastian's shoulders, making hissing noises that were slowly becoming clearer and got more letters attached to them. Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise as Ciel's worried calls became recognizable. "Se-... Sebas... Seb..... Sebastia-.... Sebas....", Ciel stuttered as he teared up.

He searched Sebastian's head for a wound and sighed in relief when he found none. Then he hugged Sebastian, who was still frozen with surprise, and continued trying to say his name. His voice was a bit scratchy and quiet and at first his pronunciation was not very clear, but he quickly got better at saying Sebastian's name, which he didn't seem to want to stop doing. "Sebastian... Sebastian.....", he repeated again and again, pressing himself against Sebastian, who carefully pet his head and tried to keep his confusion in check. Had he known that worrying about him would break Ciel's dam and make him speak, he might have thrown himself to the ground earlier. Ciel's voice was sweet and bright, it sounded wonderful.

The two gradually calmed down and stood up from the floor. Sebastian stroked a few horse hairs off of Ciel's jacket and the tears out of the corners of Ciel's eyes. "It's alright, Ciel. Nothing happened to me.”, he murmured, taking Ciel, who didn't seem to believe it yet, into his arms. "Sebastian..." he mumbled against Sebastian's chest. Sebastian stroked his hair gently. "Can you understand me?", he asked. "Sebastian" Ciel murmured again. Sebastian smiled with one corner of his mouth and raised an eyebrow. Ciel was still not particularly articulated, but either way it was a start and it was quite possible that more would follow. Sebastian took Ciel by the hand and led him back to the car.

As they drove on to the farmhouse, Ciel held Sebastian's hand the entire time. He had stopped crying, but apparently hadn't quite overcome the shock. Sebastian considered just driving home again, but they had already arrived and he could see Finny and Snake in the vegetable patch in front of the house. He stopped the car, took the wrapped cake and told Ciel to stay, then got out. Finny was about to weed when Sebastian came up to greet him. Finny jumped up enthusiastically and ran to the garden fence.

"Hello Finny. Hello, Snake. I was just in the area and thought I could bring you something.“, Sebastian said and gave the cake to Finny. Snake too came closer. He carried his boa constrictor around his shoulders and nodded to Sebastian. "Hello, says Wilde.", he murmured, peeking into the box Finny was holding. "Oh, cake.", he murmured, eyes shining happily. "Hello Sebastian! Did you see the foals when you drove here? They have grown really big! Bard says Othello will grow up to be as big as his dad! And Sascha is just as red as her mom, did you see that?“, Finny babbled excitedly. Sebastian laughed and nodded. "Yes, I saw them. They really are a lot bigger, it must have been a while since I was last here. Especially with the old Tanaka I haven't talked for a long time, I thought I could invite him for some tea.“, Sebastian explained, petting Wilde a bit.

"Yes, I'll tell him right away when he's back. He is currently on vacation in some resort place because of his health.”, Finny explained. Snake nodded to confirm. "Bath.", he added, and stuck a piece of the cake into his mouth. Sebastian's smile then froze a little. He hadn't known the old man wasn't there, and Ronald hadn't mentioned it. "I see. When will he come back?”, he asked. "In a week or two.", Finny replied. Sebastian nodded, but mentally groaned in frustration, since he could have saved the way here. "We can eat it together right away. Are you gonna come inside?”, Finny asked, looking at the cake. Sebastian shook his head and turned to go. "No, I have to leave. I just wanted to say hello real quick. Give my greetings to Bard and Meyrin.”, he replied. Finny waved to him and went inside with Snake.

Sebastian sighed as he walked back to his car. He had finally seen a chance for a few answers and now that. Halfway there, he was stopped by Meyrin's cat, who ran towards him as soon as she saw him. Smiling, Sebastian went down on his knees and petted and scratched her, as he did every time he saw her. He couldn't resist the soft fur of a cat. As she snuggled to his hand and purred, Sebastian heard the car door open and footsteps coming up to him. When Sebastian looked up, his smile disappeared and instead he looked a little guilty. Ciel had clenched his hands to fists and flattened his ears. With a whipping tail and a pout, he looked from Sebastian to the cat and back again.

"Ciel, I...", Sebastian attempted to apologize, but Ciel knelt down in front of him, pushed the cat away and pulled Sebastian's hand to his own hair. "Sebastiaaan!", he hissed, holding Sebastian's hand there. Sebastian suppressed a giggle and hugged Ciel. "Don't worry, I prefer you over any cat in the world. And that means a lot.“, he assured him and carried Ciel back to the car, into which he sat Ciel before he climbed behind the steering wheel and drove them home again.


	24. paintings

William took a deep breath and told himself that it would be over soon. It had been at least fifteen minutes since Druitt had started talking, he should be done at any moment. Unless he wanted to break his record of talking about a painting for 22 and a half minutes. But apparently he did not plan on doing that, Druitt ended his verbiage over Sebastian's picture with the announcement that he would buy it, but not at the price indicated, but at a higher price than that, which William had expected. Druitt always paid a higher price because he said that such a work of art was worth more, and William guessed that he simply did it to show off his money. As Druitt signed the check, he repeated a little of his enthusiasm and exaggerated comparisons, then finally he left William alone.

Of all the regular customers that William had, Druitt was one of those that bought the most. He was always very taken with Sebastian's pictures, but was actually obnoxious, which was why William understood in retrospect why Sebastian did not want to sell him the picture of Ciel. William wouldn't want Druitt to buy a picture of Grell either, and Sebastian probably felt the same way about Ciel.

William walked through the exhibition and checked his records. To his relief, almost all of the pictures had been sold, which meant that he would soon be done here and ready to go home. After he did the paperwork that is. As he walked through the rows of paintings, he noticed a young man with glasses who somehow didn't seem to fit in here. He didn't look like an artist or a rich customer, but more like a student, which he was likely, judging by his age. He grinned at one of Sebastian's pictures, muttering to himself. “He should have taught art too. That would have been cool. It's a shame that he is no longer a teacher, but he is a win for the artist scene.”, William could hear him say.

Sebastian and Ciel had now returned home and were sitting together on the sofa, Ciel on Sebastian's lap. "Say fox.", Sebastian prompted him. "Sebastian", Ciel said.  
"Say cake."

"Sebastian"

"Say tea."

"Sebastian"

"What is your name?"

"Sebastian"

"I hope not, that would be confusing."

Sebastian sighed and petted Ciel's ears. "Well, my name is a start. You will learn more words over time, that does not have to happen right now.”, he said and smiled when Ciel nestled into his hand. He scratched him for a while until Sebastian's phone suddenly rang. He rolled his eyes at the sudden interruption, but answered when he saw that it was William.

"Hello, Will."

“Sebastian, a young guy named Ronald Knox would like to buy one of your paintings, but doesn't have enough money for it. Would you agree if I sell it to him cheaper?”, William asked, directly as always.

Sebastian laughed. "Ronald wants one of my pictures? Of course he can have it and if he only has a penny for it.”, he replied. He hadn't really believed that Ronald would go to the exhibition at all, let alone that.

"Okay, good. Oh and one more thing. Grell invites you and Ciel to dinner at our home.”

"Wonderful, I have some new things to tell. We will bring dessert. What time?"

"Around seven. See you."

And William hung up again. Sebastian put the phone aside and grinned. "Did you hear that, darling? We'll visit Will and Grell.”, he explained to Ciel, lifting him up. "Sebastian", Ciel just murmured and twitched his ears.


	25. comfy evening

At seven o'clock, Sebastian and Ciel stood at the front door of the Spears. Just a moment after Sebastian rang the bell, Grell opened the front door and greeted the two cheerfully. As soon as they had taken off their jackets and shoes in the hallway, Grell hugged Ciel and managed to call him cute four different ways in one sentence. Ciel wriggled out of her arms and clung to Sebastian, who held Grell away with his outstretched arm. The three went into the living room, where William was already sitting on the sofa.

"Ah, you are here. The checks are on the table, all the paintings have been sold.“, he said to Sebastian and stood up. While Sebastian was collecting his money, Grell hopped at William and held onto his arm. "Willidarling, look what Ciel is wearing! I gave him that outfit. Doesn't he look lovely?”, she babbled happily. William looked at Ciel in his mini skirt and oversized jacket, adjusting his glasses. "Hm. Yes, cute.“, he agreed with a completely neutral expression and cautiously patted Ciel's head. Grell was about to say more when a sizzling noise came from the kitchen. She ran to it and could be heard swearing and the handling the pots. With a sigh, William followed her to help.

A little later all four had gathered around the table in the dining room and ate. Grell was incredibly proud that she hadn't burned anything. She wasn't very good at cooking, usually it was William who did all the cooking and she merely assisted him in the kitchen, but today she had wanted to take care of it herself. The result was not a culinary masterpiece, but it still tasted good. During the meal, Sebastian told them what he had found out and that Ciel had spoken for the first time a few hours ago.

“Somehow Ciel must have gotten into the forest and he must have lived somewhere with his parents. If they had a house in the forest, that would make sense and since there are almost none other than yours and the few are owned by Tanaka, your path of thought is understandable. It is quite possible that this Vincent has something to do with Ciel and that Tanaka knows something about it.“, William thought aloud while they were eating the cake that Sebastian and Ciel had brought for dessert. "That's right, but it will be a while before I get answers from Tanaka since he's on vacation. And even when he's back, I don't know how much he actually knows. Just because his family started a friendship with me after I bought my house from him doesn't mean that this is the case with everyone who buys a house.”, Sebastian sighed.

Grell meanwhile tried to get Ciel to speak, offering cake as a reward. "Come on, honey, say Grell. Say Grell. Or say Will. Come on, Sweety, Will, come on.“, she repeated again and again. Ciel stared at her with his head cocked and his ears leaned sideways. "Gre-... Wi-... ell.....?", he stuttered. Grell nodded encouragingly. "Good, good, you almost got it.”, she said, but Ciel was no less confused. He looked at Sebastian then again at Grell and frowned. "G-... Grill?", he finally asked, which made Sebastian snort behind him. "Well done, Ciel, you invented a new ship name for the two of them. If Grelliam is too long, you can just say Grill.”, he laughed and stroked Ciel's hair. Grell sighed a little disappointed and gave Ciel the piece of cake that she wanted to use as motivation, while William looked irritated at Sebastian. "Grelliam?", he asked quietly.

While Sebastian and William carried away the dirty dishes to the kitchen, Grell showed Ciel the rest of the house. She talked without a break and kept asking Ciel to say a word or her name, which Ciel didn't. He gazed attentively and silently at everything she showed him. He stopped longer in front of a picture hanging in the living room. "Oh, you recognized Sebastian's art right away, didn't you? He drew that shortly after our wedding. Looks good, doesn't it?”, Grell explained, putting an arm around Ciel. The picture showed her in her red wedding dress and William in his suit and, exceptionally, with a smile on his face, in front of the pavilion where their wedding had taken place.

"Speaking of pictures. We should take a picture of the evening, shouldn't we?”, she said after a while and made Ciel sit on the sofa. Then she got Sebastian and William out of the kitchen, made them sit next to them and got her camera. Grell placed the camera on the table in front of them, activated the self-timer and then squeezed herself between Ciel and William. "Smile!", she told everyone. Ciel looked at her in confusion. "Grell?", he murmured, which made Grell gasp and hug him at the exact moment the picture was taken. Ciel wriggled out of her squeezing hug and slipped away from Grell and onto Sebastian's lap, who hugged him and kissed him on the forehead. "Well done.", he praised him and pressed Grell with his free hand in William's direction, who pulled his enthusiastic wife away from Ciel.

After they all calmed down, Grell got up and suggested that they watch a movie together, which earned approval. Grell clapped her hands happily. "Wonderful! Pick one out, I'll make popcorn.”, she suggested, but Sebastian and William immediately shook their heads. "Do you remember the last time you tried to make popcorn?", Sebastian asked with a frown. "I'm making the popcorn and you're picking a movie, okay?", William said, trying to get up, but Grell held him back. "No, you had to work all day. You are now finished and should relax.“, she complained. Sebastian lifted Ciel from his lap on the sofa and got up. "I'm making the popcorn, you're picking a movie.", he said, and went into the kitchen.

While Sebastian was making popcorn and Grell was browsing their DVD collection, William and Ciel were sitting on the sofa looking at each other. William cleared his throat and Ciel twitched his ears. "Um, hello.", William murmured, adjusting his glasses. He wondered what he could say or do. It wasn't necessary for him to talk, they were only alone for a moment anyway, but Will didn't want Ciel to think he was ignoring him. Ciel studied William's face carefully. "How are you?", Will asked, even if he felt very silly doing so. Ciel twitched his ears again. William glanced nervously at Grell, but she was mentally caught in the selection of films in front of her. "Um... blue looks good on you.", William murmured to Ciel, whose expression was as neutral as before. His left eye gazed at William without blinking and Will pondered for a moment whether he had offended the fox in any way, but suddenly Ciel raised his hand. Carefully he adjusted Will's glasses. "Um... thanks.", Will muttered shyly. "William", Ciel said suddenly, smiling a little bit.

When Sebastian came back into the living room with a bowl of popcorn, he stopped and raised an eyebrow. He watched in confusion as William hugged Ciel awkwardly and patted his head. "Such a precious fox.", he muttered. Sebastian exchanged a look with Grell, who had just turned around, but she only shrugged. The two sat back down and Sebastian pulled Ciel onto his lap, where the fox made himself comfortable. Grell had chosen the film Titanic and while they were watching it, Ciel ate almost all of the popcorn by himself. When the film was over, Ciel stretched and yawned. He and Sebastian said goodbye to Grell and Willliam and drove home. On the way back Ciel fell asleep in the car and when they arrived at home, Sebastian carried him to bed.


	26. forest

Over the next few days, Ciel started saying more and more words. Most of the time he still didn't form whole sentences and he often had to repeat the pronunciation of a word several times to get it right and was frustrated if he didn't manage it right away, but he made good progress. The first words he learned were those that he had heard Sebastian say many times, such as picture, tea, Ciel, not or darling. Over time, he began to say words that he hadn't heard from Sebastian but had read in books. Sometimes when the two were sitting together, Sebastian was working on a painting and Ciel was reading, he suddenly tugged at Sebastian's sleeve and pointed to a word in his book that Sebastian then pronounced for him. Then Ciel repeated the word until he could say it the right way, gave Sebastian a kiss on the cheek as thanks and continued reading.

Right now Ciel was immersed in one of his books too. He was lying on his stomach in the grass in front of Sebastian's porch, wearing one of Sebastian's shirts over his t-shirt and shorts, his knees bent and feet in the air as he read the adventures of Sherlock Holmes with his chin resting on one hand. Sebastian was sitting on a chair on his porch and drawing Ciel as he lay there, changing the details a little.

He was almost done with the picture when Ciel closed his book, got up and went to him. "Sebastiaaan", he murmured, wrapping his arms around Sebastian's neck. Sebastian put his paper aside and ran a hand through the fluffy fur of Ciel's tail. "What is it, darling?", he asked as Ciel rubbed his cheek against Sebastian's hair. "Forest?", Ciel asked hopefully and tried to pull Sebastian off his chair. Sebastian smiled at that, gave in and stood up. "All right.", he said, although he still had work to do, but he just didn't want to refuse anything to Ciel. Ciel smiled and took Sebastian's hand, then ran towards the forest and pulled him with him.

Sometimes Ciel made it difficult for Sebastian to finish his work because he claimed a lot of his attention for himself, but Sebastian didn't mind, on the contrary. It made him incredibly happy when Ciel came to him and used his irresistible cuteness to make Sebastian take a break during which he cuddled with Ciel, drank tea with him or, like now, went for a walk with him. It was probably also better for Sebastian's health, because otherwise he would finish one painting after the other like a workaholic, like he used to. This way, Ciel was doing him a favor, although he wasn't necessarily aware of it. Sebastian suspected that Ciel knew exactly that he had completely wrapped him around his finger and simply used that.

Together they walked through the forest. It was a sunny day and the light fell beautifully between the tree tops so the rays could be seen individually. Sebastian took a deep breath of the woody scent of the trees and other plants. He gazed at Ciel with admiration. The fox moved across the forest floor without making a sound. His bare feet stepped lightly on the soft moss that covered the floor and he elegantly meandered between the tall trees. His ears were pricked up and he seemed to hear every little sound. Now and then he stopped and held his finger to his lips to signal Sebastian to be quiet. Then they heard a woodpecker knocking on a tree trunk or a chirping bird. One time they saw a deer walking past them in the distance, another time Ciel showed him the paw marks of a rabbit at a puddle from the last rain. With Ciel at his side, Sebastian had the impression that he was experiencing the forest much more than he had ever done before.

After a while they came to a tree that had mostly fallen over. It held onto the ground a little with its roots and leaned on other trees so it didn't lie on the ground but seemed to hang in the air a little bit above it. Ciel let go of Sebastian's hand and climbed over the roots onto the tree trunk and walked up on it without any problems. Halfway he turned to Sebastian and gazed at him questioningly. Sebastian came closer and looked at the tree trunk somewhat uncertainly. It seemed stable and even the highest part of it was not too far from the ground so he wouldn't hurt himself should he fall down, but Sebastian wasn't a fox with a tail to help balance. Still, he climbed after Ciel on the tree trunk and walked slowly and carefully along it. Ciel smiled and walked ahead of Sebastian until he finally sat down on the trunk, his legs dangling off of it on one side, his tail on the other.

Sebastian carefully balanced up to Ciel and dropped next to him, each leg on one side of the tree trunk. Ciel smiled at him and slid a little closer so he leaned sideways against Sebastian's chest and Sebastian wrapped his arms around Ciel's waist and rested his chin on Ciel's head. Ciel gave his usual purr and snuggled up to Sebastian. His purring and the chirping of birds were the only sounds that could be heard in the forest, apart from that it was completely silent. Sebastian's gaze wandered over the trees with their green leaves glowing in the sun and their rough bark, over the big ferns on the ground, over Ciel's beautiful body and, for once, he wasn't thinking about what to do or how productive he was, but rather just enjoyed the moment.

After a while Ciel pricked up his ears and his gaze fixed on something on the ground. When Sebastian followed with his eyes, he noticed a red fox that silently crept past them. It paused briefly, looked up at the two, then walked a little faster. "Fox", Ciel muttered as the animal disappeared into the woods. "Yes, a fox. There are some of them here.”, Sebastian agreed. He had never seen one that close before. Ciel looked up at him and cocked his head questioningly. He raised a hand and tapped his ears. "Fox?", he asked quietly. Sebastian frowned. "You mean if you are a fox yourself?", he wanted to know and Ciel nodded. "So you don't know yourself what you are?", Sebastian was surprised to find. "Don't", Ciel said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked a little disappointed with himself, so Sebastian immediately pulled him closer again. "I don't know what you are either, but that's actually not that important. You are wonderful and I like you the way you are.“, he clarified, which made Ciel smile.

While they were sitting there, Sebastian thought about it and a new thought came to him. He loosened his grip on Ciel so he could face him again. "Do you know where you come from? Do you know what happened in your past?”, he asked curiously and just as he had feared, Ciel shook his head. "Don't", he said sadly. "You have no memories of it?", Sebastian asked in surprise. "None.", Ciel confirmed, dropping his head and ears sadly. Sebastian kissed him gently on the forehead. "It's okay, yes? We'll find out where you come from and maybe your memories will come back.”, he explained and Ciel nodded slightly.

He leaned his head back and took one of Sebastian's longer strands of hair between his thumb and indexfinger. A smile spread across his face as he felt and tugged on the strand, causing Sebastian to lean closer to him. Ciel pressed a quick kiss on Sebastian's lips and then hid his blushing face, giggling softly, in Sebastian's chest. Every time he was the one who initiated physical affection, he became particularly shy, when Sebastian started it was easier for him to just let himself go. Sebastian found his shyness cute. He rubbed his nose gently on one of Ciel's ears and closed his lips around the tip of the ear, on which he then pulled gently. Ciel giggled louder and clawd at Sebastian's shirt while his tail whipped excitedly. Sebastian tugged on his other ear in the same way, which made Ciel laugh and fidget. "Sebastiaaaan!", he giggled. Sebastian's name seemed to be his favorite word,or at least he said it most often.

Sebastian left Ciel's ears alone and instead pressed kisses on Ciel's temples, cheeks and forehead and finally another on the cute little tip of his nose. Ciel couldn't stop giggling as he wiggled under the kisses. When Sebastian finally kissed him on the lips, his face was already very red. He was still giggling while Sebastian pressed many short kisses on his mouth and accidentally nudged Ciel's with his own nose. Over time, however, the kisses became longer and involved more tongue, so Ciel's giggles gradually stopped and were replaced by soft moans. Ciel lay relaxed in Sebastian's arms, his hands clenched in Sebastian's shirt, his head laid back and he let him kiss him with his eyes closed. One of Sebastian's arms lay around Ciel's shoulders, the other was wrapped around Ciel's waist and his fingers dug into Ciel's hip as he played around Ciel's tongue with his own, his lips pressed against Ciel's.

Finally the two broke apart to catch their breath, a thin thread of saliva bound their mouths until they started kissing once again. It seemed like an eternity in which they sat and kissed on the tree trunk, but at some point Sebastian decided that they should go home. He let go of Ciel and swung off of the tree trunk like of a horseback. The trunk was about at his shoulder height, so he landed on the ground with no problems. He stretched out his arms and Ciel let himself slide off the trunk and right into Sebastian's arms. Sebastian adjusted their position so he held Ciel bridal style and carried the fox, who snuggled up to him, back home.


	27. steamy

Sebastian looked up at the night sky when he closed the window. Out here, outside of the city, it was easily possible to see the stars very well and the moon was shining brightly. "There will be a full moon soon.", Sebastian thought aloud as he turned back to the bathtub in which Ciel was already sitting. The fox hadn't heard him at all, he was too fascinated by the soap bubbles around him. Sebastian smiled at his almost childlike wonder at the bubble bath and climbed into the tub behind Ciel.

Ciel gathered some foam and let it run through his hands as he leaned back until he was comfortably leaning against Sebastian. "Sebastian, look!", he called excitedly and blew into the foam. Several soap bubbles rose into the air and hovered around them, a few burst. Ciel's eyes glittered as he watched. "Yeah, looks pretty.", Sebastian murmured, only looking at Ciel. Seeing him happy made Sebastian happy too. He was almost proud of having bought the bubble bath mix. In the past, he almost never took a bath, but limited himself to taking short showers, but with Ciel, he enjoyed sitting in the bath and relaxing.

When he brushed a strand of hair from Ciel's face, his attention was drawn back to Sebastian. He pressed a kiss to Sebastian's lips, then snuggled backwards into Sebastian's embrace. He sighed comfortably and closed his eyes relaxed as he stretched and was hugged by Sebastian. He pulled one leg closer and crossed it with the other so half of his leg protruded from the water. There were a several clouds of foam on it, and a few of them slid down. The drops of water looked like tiny pearls on Ciel's skin, on which they ran down very slowly. Sebastian was tempted to catch the drops of water by running his hand along Ciel's leg. Or his mouth. Ciel just had wonderful legs. They were long and slim, perfectly shaped and looked like from a doll. And Ciel's skin looked like fine porcelain, so beautiful and smooth and wonderful to touch.

Sebastian's fingertips carefully stroked over Ciel's thighs. Sebastian watched Ciel's reaction closely to see if the fox didn't want that, but there was no such sign. Instead, Ciel dropped his leg back into the water and leaned into the touch so his thighs were nestled into Sebastian's hands. He made a pleased sound as Sebastian tightened his grip a little, his tail moved back and forth in the water. Ciel's skin was soft and comforting and Sebastian couldn't resist leaning over Ciel and carefully letting his hands explore Ciel's thighs while he pressed his lips to Ciel's neck. Without hesitation, Ciel leaned his head to the side so Sebastian had easier access to it and Sebastian could feel his purr vibrating in his throat.

When he pulled Ciel closer to him, the fox gasped suddenly and his eyes widened. Sebastian immediately stopped and looked up at his face, but Ciel looked away from him. He blushed and nervously chewed on his lower lip, which looked cute but seemed to be a sign of discomfort. Sebastian wondered what could have suddenly brought Ciel out of his relaxed state when he suddenly noticed that his body was reacting to Ciel's. Sebastian was fully hard and since he had pulled Ciel closer to him, Ciel could feel his erection against his back. Sebastian immediately loosened his grip on the fox. "Please forgive me.", he murmured, embarrassed, and looked away.

He wanted to remove his hands from Ciel's legs, but Ciel held them where they were. "Sebastian", he murmured so quietly that Sebastian almost hadn't heard him. He raised his head a little shyly until he could look at Sebastian. His cheeks were bright red and the way he innocently looked through his long eyelashes demanded a lot of willpower from Sebastian not to kiss him immediately. "I'm sorry, I...", Sebastian started, but Ciel shook his head. He carefully pushed Sebastian's hands further down and between his legs so Sebastian could feel that he too was aroused. "Touch me.", Ciel asked softly and snuggled closer to Sebastian.

Speechless with surprise, Sebastian was frozen for a moment. He ran his fingertips gently over Ciel's erection and circled the tip with his thumb. Ciel gasped and whispered Sebastian's name. Again his hands lay on Sebastian's and he moved them closer. Sebastian started pumping him, which caused Ciel to lean his head back and moan softly. Despite his obvious enjoyment, he pushed Sebastian's hands away after a short while, but Sebastian didn't get rejected, on the contrary. Ciel turned around and wrapped his legs around Sebastian's waist. He snuggled close to him and let a loud moan escape his throat, which obviously surprised himself because he slapped his hands over his mouth in shock.

Sebastian smiled and took Ciel's hands away, kissed them and placed them on his shoulders. "Be as loud as you want. I like to hear you.”, he whispered against Ciel's lips and kissed him. Their tongues played around each other, while Sebastian wrapped one arm around Ciel and slipped the other hand between their bodies, grasping both of their cocks. Ciel's voice rose a few octaves when Sebastian started to let his hand move up and down on both of them. His moans grew louder and more frequent and he kept calling Sebastian's name. There was complete rapture showing on his face. He clung to Sebastian, his hips twitching forward again and again. His claws dug into Sebastian's shoulders and scratched down his back, which Ciel didn't notice and didn't bother Sebastian. He watched Ciel's behavior with fascination and couldn't believe his luck that he could actually have him this way.

As his hand movements became faster and stronger, his lips found Ciel's neck again and sucked on it. Ciel moaned especially loud and he wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck, holding him tightly to his body, which showed Sebastian that he liked it. He sucked and bit all over his entire neck and collarbone until Ciel finally screamed Sebastian's name and trembled in his embrace. They kissed stormily as they came together.

Later they cuddled together in bed. Sebastian was lying on his back, he had put on boxers, nothing else. Smiling, he held Ciel in his arms, who had made himself comfortable on Sebastian's chest and was wearing one of Sebastian's white shirts. He was completely exhausted and half asleep, but his fingers still ran over and over through Sebastian's hair, in sync with the brush that Sebastian stroked through Ciel's tail. Ciel's fur was silky soft from the shampoo and fluffed up from the blow-drying, Sebastian couldn't get his hands off of the floof. As he continued to brush Ciel's tail and scratch Ciel behind the ears with his free hand, Ciel's movements slowed until they finally stopped when he finally fell asleep. Sebastian kissed his hair, put the brush away and turned off the light. "Good night, my beloved fox.", he whispered to Ciel, then pulled the blanket over both of them and closed his eyes.


	28. Sebastian's memories

When Sebastian woke up the next day, he and Ciel were tangled together. He had to untangle his legs from Ciel's and the blanket before he had a chance to get up. Ciel was still asleep and Sebastian carefully pushed him off of him so he didn't wake him up when he left the bedroom. Sebastian went into the kitchen and looked for something to make a particularly good breakfast out of, which he would then bring to bed. After a short search he had all the ingredients for pancakes and started to prepare some. Today would be a special day. Sebastian had decided to tell Ciel that he loved him and to ask if he wanted to be officially a couple with him. After the bubble bath the night before and the many kisses, Sebastian had the feeling that Ciel would hardly say no, but he was still nervous.

As he poured the batter into the pan, he heard a car in front of the house and then the clatter of the mailbox, a sound he rarely heard, since he almost never got mail. Sebastian flipped the pancake and went to the door, took the key and unlocked the mailbox. Inside was a white envelope, which he took with him and placed on the tray he was preparing. After a while he finished several pancakes and put them on a plate that he placed on the tray, along with a jar of chocolate cream, a jar of strawberry jam and two cups of tea. Then he carried the tray into the bedroom, where Ciel looked up at him sleepily and pouting. "Don't leave. I don't like that. Wake up without you.", Ciel murmured offended into the pillow and stretched. Sebastian smiled and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry. But now I'm back and I've brought you something.”, he replied. Ciel sat up and sniffed, his ears attentivly pricked up. The sight of breakfast immediately made him forgiving. He leaned against Sebastian and rubbed his head on his shoulder.

The two started eating and Sebastian opened the envelope that had arrived. Inside was a postcard depicting a field of lavender and a stem with lavender blossoms. While Ciel sniffed the lavender, Sebastian read the postcard. “It's from France, my mother sent it. She writes that she is doing well and the fields are currently in full bloom.”, he told Ciel and showed him the picture on the postcard. Ciel looked at it and then looked up at Sebastian curiously. "Your ... mother?", he asked, cocking his head. “Yes, she moved to France a few years ago. Sometimes I get a letter or a package from her.”, Sebastian explained. Ciel dropped his gaze back to the card. Suddenly he took the photo of Sebastian with his parents from his bedside table and held it out to Sebastian, pointing on the picture. "Your mother?", he asked again. Sebastian nodded. "Yes, that's my mother. And that next to her my father.“, Sebastian confirmed and pointed to the other photo on Ciel's bedside table which showed Rachel. "What about her? She is your mother, isn't she? Do you remember her?”, he asked.

Ciel took the photo and looked at it thoughtfully. "A little bit. Nothing specific. I hardly remember anything, just ... she sang to me in the evening... soothed me during a thunderstorm... her smile... I remember that. Nothing else.”, Ciel murmured to himself and gulped. Sebastian immediately put an arm around him and stroked Ciel's hair soothingly. They sat quietly for a while and Ciel stared at the two photos, lost in thought. Suddenly he raised his head and looked curiously at Sebastian. "You remember, don't you? Your mother?”, he asked. "Yes I do. I never lost my memory, I remember my life so far very well”, Sebastian agreed, which made him a little uncomfortable in front of Ciel, who had lost his memories, but Ciel showed no discomfort, on the contrary. "Tell me.", he begged excitedly. Sebastian blinked in surprise. "Tell you? What exactly?”, he asked irritated. Ciel held up the picture of his family. "Everything. The pictures. In the box. You. Your family.”, he stuttered. When he talked too much too quickly at once, his regained speaking skills deteriorate, but Sebastian understood him. "All right. Wait a minute.”, he said, standing up.

Sebastian fetched the photo album from the box in his attic from which the picture Ciel had found came, then went back to the bedroom and sat next to Ciel, who snuggled up to him and looked at the album curiously. "So then.", Sebastian said and opened it. On the first page was his parents' wedding photo and a picture that showed the two of them with himself as a baby. “These are my parents Berenice and Edgar Michaelis. Berenice was formerly a model and actress, but has now stopped and Edgar is a successful lawyer. The two were a couple for less than three months when they got married and the reason they decided to marry was me.", Sebastian said and tapped the image of him as an infant,"Mum forgot to take her birth control pill one time and she became pregnant with me. And because their relationship was going well and the two had imagined that it would stay that way, they planned their wedding over the positive pregnancy test, which then took place six months before I was born.”

Sebastian turned the page and now the two saw a picture of Edgar and Berenice, who were holding the one-year-old Sebastian and posing in front of a large house in a wealthy city district. "It's really been a long time since the last time I was there.", Sebastian muttered, shaking his head at the house. Ciel gave him a curious look to get him to continue talking, which he did. “My father inherited the house from his parents, along with a fortune. He still lives there with a few servants. It is a big house where you can easily feel lonely, no matter how expensive and tastefully decorated it is. I never felt very at home there, even though I grew up there. I preferred the large flower beds in the garden.”, Sebastian said, pointing to the picture on the other half of the double page, which showed him sitting in the grass and surrounded by flowers when he was five years old, looking shyly at the camera.

“The first couple of years of my parents' marriage and my life were actually quite peaceful. I think we were really a happy family back then. But then my parents started to diverge. I think it started when my mother started her career again.”, Sebastian said thoughtfully. When he turned the page, the next picture was a cut-out advertisement from a magazine showing Sebastian's mother promoting a perfume. She was wearing only a bikini in the picture and lay stretched out and smiling seductively next to a pool. You could clearly see in the picture how similar Sebastian looked to her. Her straight, black hair was significantly longer than Sebastian's, but was identical in color and texture, her almond-shaped, red-brown eyes were indistinguishable from his and the elongated face and pale skin were equally recognizable in both, she had even inherited her long legs to her son. Ciel gazed at her with admiration.

Sebastian smiled slightly as he gazed at his mother and Ciel's reaction. “She is a wonderful woman and was a versatile model, but my father thought she was not professional enough. In his view, it wasn't a real job what she was doing and if she showed a little more skin on pictures like this, he thought she was almost a stripper. When he made such comments to her, she was offended and rightly felt that she was not being taken seriously by him.”, Sebastian explained, with a bit of bitterness in his voice. He pointed to the photo below, that showed a small group of men in suits in an office. "This is my father's law firm. And that's him.”, he said, pointing to the tallest of the men standing in the middle. Unlike Berenice, Edgar hadn't inherited too many traits to his son. His hair was brown and curled a little, which he concealed with a thick layer of hair gel, and his face was round and looked in a bad mood. He had crow's feet around his eyes, which suggested that he was older than Berenice. His physique was muscular and broad-shouldered and he was very tall, which Sebastian had inherited from him.

"Looks strict.", Ciel commented on Edgar's image. "He is. Or to put it more precisely, he has precise ideas about how people should be and what successful jobs they should have. If that weren't the case, he would actually be perfectly fine, but I guess I was lucky that he barely dealt with me when I was a child. My mother took care of me more, but when she got back to work it faded a bit. Instead, I had Nannys that were replaced every few years.”, Sebastian explained, turning the page to a page on which showed Sebastian on several photos, first as a six-year-old, then as a nine-year-old, as an eleven-year-old and as a thirteen-year-old, together with a different woman in each. "Nanny? Replaced?“, Ciel asked irritated. "A nanny is someone rich people hire to look after their children. They took care of me instead of my parents and were paid for it. And with every new nanny there was a different reason why she had to leave. The first nanny tried to make me a vegetarian, which annoyed my father because he was convinced that I would not become particularly strong if I didn't eat meat. The second one was hired by my father and has always encouraged me to do things that are supposed to be for a boy, like playing football, which I never liked and which is also terribly silly, which upset my mother. The third one was no problem at all in this regard, but at some point another servant caught her stealing. And finally the fourth one, well, even though my parents really weren't passionately in love anymore at the time, my mother still didn't like my father having an affair and threw her out, which was why my parents started to argue all the time.”, Sebastian explained, sighed and turned the page.

Ciel hugged him sideways to comfort him a little, realizing how bitter Sebastian's memories made him. Sebastian kissed him on the head with a smile. "Should I tell you more?", he asked and Ciel nodded and looked back into the photo album. He abruptly sat up and looked closer when he found that he knew some of the faces in the next pictures. The first picture showed a group of about fifteen year old boys and an adult posing in a classroom. "I couldn't take my parents' constant quarrels and hated the fact that I almost never saw them, so I persuaded them to be sent to a school instead of taking private lessons at home. They sent me to an boarding school, where I felt much more comfortable than at home. That's where I met William. He didn't really want to have anything to do with me at first, but our rooms were next to each other, we had every subject together and his parents were similarly at odds with each other as mine, so at some point we started spending our free time together, which inevitably made us friends.”, Sebastian said and pointed to the next picture.

It showed William and Sebastian sitting side by side at a table with books and notebooks spread out and looking up at the camera as if they had just been disturbed while studying. In the book in the middle there was an image of a Greek statue and text below it, suggesting that they were studying for art classes. “It was William who made me draw. He was interested in art even then, but it might have been due to his parents who worked in the art business, and he often tried to draw, but he wasn't particularly good at it. But that didn't stop him from studying art at the same university where I studied teaching and Grell studied design.“, Sebastian explained and pointed to the next picture, where you could see the three standing side by side. Grell looked shy and less feminine in the picture, had much shorter hair and didn't dare to wear as much red as she did nowadays. William's hair was shorter too, which made less difference in his case, and he was already wearing the glasses frame he still had. However, the greatest contrast to his current appearance was Sebastian. In the photo he was wearing a black leather jacket with spikes, black nail polish, earrings that looked like shark teeth and had shoulder-length hair that he had tied together in a ponytail. Ciel stared wide-eyed at the younger version of Sebastian in the picture, he couldn't take his eyes off it.

Sebastian rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "Well, what can I say. During my time at university, I had more freedom than ever before, and for the first time I had the chance to live and try myself out as much as I wanted. I felt like I had to use it as best I could. After all, I was finally no longer financially dependent on my father, which meant that I no longer had to pay visits to home. My mother moved out and filed for divorce after I moved out and I had a part-time job in a cafe.”, Sebastian said, laughing softly at the latter. He turned the page so that Ciel could see the next photo, which was a selfie taken by Sebastian and Grell in barista uniforms. "Can you imagine that? The Goth I was then pouring coffee for old ladies? But it went quite well and since I worked with Grell, I had the opportunity to bring her and William closer together. William came to the cafe where I worked often. At first it was because I recommended it to him and he wanted coffee, but over time it was more and more because of Grell. It took him ages to realize that he had fallen in love with her and even longer to take the first step. She herself was totally shy at the time, but also liked him, but was afraid that he might not want to be with her because she is a trans woman. It was so incredibly cute how the two of them were pinjng and each of them talked to me very nervously and in love about the other. And then they finally came together.”, Sebastian told Ciel and pointed to the next picture, which showed William and Grell in a snowy and Christmas-lit shopping street, where they held each other's hand.

Ciel giggled and made cooed as he looked at the two, which only intensified when Sebastian showed him the next photo that showed them at their wedding. “The two were a couple for years before they married. I was so happy for the two of them.”, he commented, pointing to the photo below the couple that showed Sebastian hugging William with a laugh, while Grell giggled in the background, holding her gathered wedding dress in her hands. Sebastian looked at the picture with a smile and didn't want to turn the page for a while. When he finally did, he sighed and got serious again. The next few pictures showed groups of students posing with their teacher for a class photo, like that of Sebastian's school days, with the difference that he was now the teacher and not one of the students. Ciel's eyes widened at the sight of Sebastian in a suit with a long coat and glasses. He looked polite but serious and, the more years had passed, the more tired he looked. From then on his hair was short and a bit longer on the sides, so his face was framed as Ciel knew it.

“Since I was happiest at the boarding school, I decided to apply to a boarding school as a teacher and was hired by Weston School. I was pretty nervous at first, but I quickly got used to it, the students found my teaching method easy to understand and found me sympathetic and I felt that everything was be wonderful. Unfortunately, that didn't last. You heard what I said to Ronald, the school busied me 24/7. I had no time for myself, for my friends or for my family, the latter taking care of itself anyway, because my mother moved to France to the area where her cousin and her husband live. I was just teaching and teaching and I was getting more and more exhausted. It went on like this for a few years until I quit and bought the house here.”, Sebastian explained and turned the page. In the next pictures Sebastian's Cottage could be seen, first from the outside, then from the inside full with moving boxes, between which William and Grell sat, who helped Sebastian move.

“It took me a long time to settle in here, but I was very glad to have come here. And when I met you a few months after my move, I became really happy.”, Sebastian finished his story and hugged Ciel, who cuddled up to him. He closed the album and put it on his bedside table. Ciel still stared at it. "So many pages are still blank.", he murmured. "Right, I didn't have enough photos to get it full, but my life isn't over yet.", Sebastian replied.


	29. dream a little dream of me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is "Dream a Little dream of me" by the mamas and the papas.

After breakfast, Sebastian put on a pair of jeans and brought the tray into the kitchen, where he cleaned the dishes. As he did so, his gaze fell out of the kitchen window and, to his annoyance, he noticed that his car in front of the house had a flat tire. So Sebastian put on shoes, got tools and a new tire from the garage and started to replace the broken one. Apparently he had recently driven over something sharp that stung a hole into the tire and made it lose its air overnight.

Before starting to work, Sebastian connected his phone with the car stereo and turned on some music. He hummed along to the song dream a little dream of me as he unscrewed the tire's screws. When he turned around he saw Ciel standing in the front door and watching him. He had put on a black and white striped crop top and very short, skinny jeans and was sucking on a caramel lollipop. He listened with his ears pricked up and after a short while he walked up to Sebastian and dropped himself onto the hood of the car next to him. "Good morning, beautful.", Sebastian greeted him, gazed at him with a smile and pressed a kiss onto Ciel's forehead. "I'm not beautiful.", Ciel murmured, his gaze lowered, but Sebastian laughed at that. "Yes, you are. You're stunning.", he replied, running a hand over Ciel's leg, which made Ciel blush and smile. Sebastian kissed him on the cheek, then continued to work.

It was hard to concentrate on the front tire while Ciel lounged on the hood and sucked on his lollipop. Ciel closed his eyes relaxed and enjoyed the sun shining on him. When he took a deep breath, his crop top slipped up a little further and showed even more skin. He pulled his legs up a little and wiggled his toes as his tail rocked back and forth in time with the music. Sebastian had to use all of his willpower to focus on the tires again, but it didn't last long.

After a while Ciel took the lollipop out of his mouth and started singing, very quietly and a little hesitantly at first, but after a while he got louder and he mastered the text perfectly. "Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper I love you, birds singing in the sycamore tree, dream a little dream of me", he sang and opened his eyes. When he noticed that Sebastian was gazing at him, he turned to the side so he could look at Sebastian directly and pointed at him with his caramel lollipop. "Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you, but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me.", Ciel sang and giggled when Sebastian took the lollipop in his mouth with a playful grin and leaned back so he was out of Ciel's reach.

Ciel leaned forward to get the candy, but slipped off the car and into Sebastian's arms. Sebastian lifted him up and held Ciel so that he could sit on one of his arms while he took Ciel's hand with his free hand. He started taking small, rocking steps back and forth as if they were slow dancing together. Ciel giggled and wrapped his free arm around Sebastian's neck. "Stars fading but I linger on dear, still craving your kiss, I'm longing to linger till dawn dear, just saying this", Ciel continued to sing.

They danced to the music and Ciel's singing for quite a while until the song was over. Then Sebastian dropped onto the hood and placed Ciel on his lap. While he took his phone and made it play the song again, Ciel got his lollipop back and started sucking on it again, happily snuggling up to Sebastian. Sebastian smiled at Ciel's cuteness and he switched the camera on his cell phone to selfie mode. "Smile, my darling.", he asked Ciel, who took the lollipop out of his mouth and leaned his head against Sebastian's, who took a picture of them. Then Ciel wanted to put his candy back into his mouth, but Sebastian held his hand back and kissed Ciel instead. He could taste the sweet caramel in Ciel's mouth, a flavour that fit Ciel very well. It was still a long time before Sebastian finished changing the tires.

As relaxed as the two had spent the morning, they also spent the rest of the day. When it was afternoon, the two were cuddling in bed. Sebastian scratched and petted Ciel's hair and ears and pressed kisses onto his neck while Ciel giggled and cuddled up to him when the doorbell suddenly interrupted them. Sebastian groaned in frustration but forced himself to stand up. He put on a T-shirt and with all his might he tried not to be seduced by Ciel's pout to just fall back into bed and keep hugging him. "I'm sorry, darling. This is probably William who wants to fetch some paintings, I will probably be right back.“, he assured, but Ciel still pouted when Sebastian left the room. He hurried to the door hoping that he would be back to Ciel sooner if he could get the matter over with fast, but when he opened the door it wasn't William, it was an older man with gray hair and a monocle who stood in front of him. Sebastian flinched and widened his eyes in surprise. "Tanaka?", he asked confused. Tanaka smiled at him. "Hello Sebastian. I'm back from my vacation.”, he said.


	30. what Tanaka has to tell

While Tanaka came in, Sebastian tried not to show his nervousness. He hadn't expected him to be back, nor that he would pay him a visit without telling him. Why hadn't he just called? Then Sebastian would have invited him to a cafe and have a conversation with him there, in which he would have randomly included questions about Vincent and Kitsunes while Ciel stayed at home, as he had planned. But now Sebastian was surprised and irritated, which he didn't let show. He offered Tanaka a drink and asked him how his vacation was, but Tanaka seemed thoughtful and answered very briefly. He looked around Sebastian's living room as if he had never seen it before, which surprised Sebastian, but he made no comment.

Sebastian took a glass of water and drank it, watching tensely as Tanaka sat down and looked through a few of Sebastian's sketches that were lying on the coffee table. The old man also tried to start a little small talk and commented on the weather, but Sebastian was still tense. He sat down next to Tanaka and tried to liven up the conversation to distract Tanaka's attention from the drawings, but he managed it only moderately and finally Sebastian just claimed to be very busy at the moment and asked Tanaka to come back another time.

Now Tanaka was finally focusing on him, but he made no move to leave. Instead, he took a deep breath, eyed Sebastian closely, and leaned over to him. "Sebastian, when I got home, Finny told me that you had visited and brought a cake over. He said he looked out of the window and saw you while he was cutting the cake into pieces in the kitchen, but you weren't alone. Since there is too much distance between the kitchen window and the yard, he couldn't tell exactly who it was, but he claimed that the person had... specific characteristics. And he said that you and said person seemed to be familiar with each other and drove away together.", Tanaka explained. Sebastian gulped and forced himself to keep his neutral expression. He could have known that Finny would see them, but he hadn't thought about it any further. "So what? Even if I wasn't alone, what about it? You didn't come here because of that, did you?”, he asked.

Tanaka nodded and smiled a little. "But I did. Because, you know, we used to know two people with the characteristics I mentioned and if Finny is right, your companion was one of them. And understandably that interests my children and me, because we were friends with the Phantomhives and after Rachel and Vincent died, we were very sad and searched for their son for a long time, but he was simply gone. We thought he was dead too, but now Finny saw him with you.”, Tanaka explained.

Sebastian stared at him with his mouth open. His mind was racing and he had no idea what to say. So Tanaka knew a lot about Ciel's family, and Vincent was really Ciel's father. Sebastian cleared his throat before Tanaka could say more and got up. "Excuse me for a moment.", he murmured and ran towards his bedroom, but stopped at the landing. Ciel stood on the stairs, staring at the floor with his eyes wide open and his ears flattened. Sebastian went up to him and took Ciel's clenched hands into his own, which made Ciel look up at him. "Who is that? Who is this man?”, he whispered in a shaky voice. "This is Brian Tanaka from whom I bought the house here. He owns the farm with the horses we went to the other day.”, Sebastian explained just as quietly. "What he's saying... Why... What does he know about my parents?", Ciel stammered quietly. "Obviously significantly more than we do. He knew them personally. Do you want.. Shall we talk to him?”, Sebastian asked. Ciel gulped and nodded. Sebastian kissed his forehead and led him by the hand to the living room.

When Tanaka saw Ciel, his eyes widened and a relieved smile spread across his face as he jumped up and came towards them. "Astre, it's really you! We were so worried, we searched the whole area around the house! We thought you were dead! I'm so glad to see you!“, he shouted, but Ciel hid behind Sebastian's back and held on to his shirt. Tanaka shook his head, stunned and still smiling, even tearing up. "You were gone for so long. I can't believe I'm facing you. Oh, Astre, where have you been? Why did you never come to us, we would have taken you in.“, he sobbed and dabbed the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief.

Ciel clung to Sebastian and looked upat him for help. Sebastian put an arm comfortingly around Ciel. "Um, Tanaka, Ciel doesn't know what you're talking about.", he started to explain, but before he could say more, the old man cut him off. "Why do you call him Ciel? Is that a nickname?”, he asked irritated. "Well, I guess you could say that? I didn't know what his name is, that's why I called him that.”, he said. Tanaka frowned. "Why didn't you just ask him?", he wanted to know. "Because that didn't work. On the one hand, he didn't speak until about a week ago, and on the other hand, he lost his memory.”, Sebastian explained. Tanaka looked surprised back and forth between Sebastian and Ciel. "You don't remember anything?", he asked Ciel, who nodded. Tanaka sank back onto the sofa and sighed. "So that explains it.", he murmured.

Sebastian took Ciel by the hand and led him to the armchair, on which he sat down with Ciel on his lap. The fox curled up on him and wrapped his tail and Sebastian's arms around himself. He stared nervously at Tanaka, too confused to say anything. Sebastian cleared his throat to get Tanaka's attention back. "How did you get to know Ciel's parents?", he asked. Tanaka smiled and gazed out of the window when the old memories came back up. “Vincent Phantomhive bought a house of mine in a different part of the forest. He was excited and confident that he had a wonderful future ahead of him. A likeable young man who was enthusiastic about his wife Rachel, whom he had met in Japan. The two had fallen in love and she moved to England with him. She herself had many ancestors from Great Britain, as she told me, but had never lived here before. But she liked it and she loved the forest. She was a wonderful, gentle woman and extremely beautiful. You look so much like her, Astre. My children and I got along very well with her. She was like an aunt to them. Rachel was wonderful with children. She would be so proud if she could see the four now.”, Tanaka told them.

"So you met the two when your kids were little? That must have been a long time ago.”, Sebastian commented and Tanaka nodded. "Oh yes, that's true. It's been about 18 years since Rachel and Vincent moved here. And Rachel got pregnant at almost the same time. Vincent was very nervous because Rachel wasn't physically strong and tended to get sick. Her pregnancy was in fact stressful, especially since she had twins. We were all very tense during and after the birth. The children were born a little too early and the baby who was born first was stillborn, but the second lived and survived, although it seemed a little weak at first. But Rachel took good care of her son and called him Astre.”, Tanaka continued and nodded to Ciel at the last sentence.

“Astre was such a nice boy. Small and shy but friendly and sensitive and equipped with the same tail and ears as his mother. He got along very well with my children, although he was younger than them, loved books, the forest and animals. Especially Sebastian, the dog of the Phantomhives, was his close friend.“, Tanaka continued talking, indulging in his memories. "We had a dog?", Ciel asked excitedly. "The dog's name was Sebastian?", Sebastian asked irritated. "What happened to the dog?", Ciel asked. Tanaka laughed. "Yes indeed. He was a black Borzoi, a Russian wolfhound. A beautiful and calm animal that lived a long life for a dog and eventually died of natural causes.”, he said, gazing at the facial expressions of the two amused.

"Oh yes, it was a happy fifteen years that the Phantomhives and us lived side by side.", Tanaka murmured happily. Sebastian exchanged a look with Ciel, who snuggled close to him and took his hand for support. "What happened after fifteen years?", Sebastian asked tensely. Tanaka's expression became sad and he looked away from Ciel. "Well... As I said, Rachel's health wasn't the best. Finally, she became seriously ill. At first we all thought she would recover as usual, but this time she didn't. One beautiful summer day she died of her illness.“, Tanaka continued to tell them quietly, then he fell silent. He frowned and hung his head, which led Sebastian to conclude that it wasn't the worst part of the story. But he said nothing, but hugged Ciel, who made himself very small with the new unveiling.

Tanaka cleared his throat and continued speaking slowly. “For Vincent, Rachel was the whole world. She was his everything, the joy of his life. He often said to me that he couldn't live without her. I wasn't there when he... When he couldn't cope with her death, I only know what I heard later from the police and eyewitnesses in town. After Rachel died, Vincent must have gone mad in his pain or panicked or something, I don't know. I don't know why he did it, but he spread a fire accelerator around his house and lit it on fire. Maybe he wanted to give Rachel a cremation, like I said, I don't know, I just know that afterwards he drove into the city and got completely drunk in a bar. When he finally left the bar, he ran straight onto the street and a truck hit him. He was dead before the ambulance arrived.”, Tanaka said, tears forming in his eyes.

There was silence after Tanaka finished speaking. The quiet was only broken by Ciel's accelerated breath. He trembled in Sebastian's hug and hid his face in Sebastian's chest. Sebastian could feel Ciel's tears wet his shirt. He kept stroking his hair and hugging him as he tried to sort his own thoughts. "So that means Ciel lived alone in the forest for three years?", he asked in a husky voice. Tanaka nodded. "Apparently.", he replied. Ciel turned his head to Tanaka and looked at him with wide, watery eyes. "My father... burned down the house... because of my mother? And he didn't take care of me?”, he stuttered, interrupted by sobs. Tanaka stared at him in dismay. "What happened to your right eye?", he asked worriedly. Ciel made a choked sound, got up and ran out of the open door to the porch and towards the forest.

Sebastian jumped up too. "Ciel!", he called after him, but the fox had already disappeared between the trees. He hastily grabbed his keys, stuffed them into his pocket and ran towards the front door, pulling Tanaka with him. "I'm sorry, but I have to throw you out now, I have to go after him. Thank you for being there and telling us everything.”, he hastily said to Tanaka while quickly putting on shoes. "Yes of course. Come over to my house some time.”, Tanaka called after him before he left the house, but Sebastian didn't hear him. He ran after Ciel into the forest.


	31. in the moonlight

The sun was already setting while Sebastian ran through the forest as fast as he could and called for Ciel. The fox was much faster than he was, so he had long been out of sight and Sebastian was only stumbling through the undergrowth hoping that he was going in the right direction. He also didn't know if Ciel was heading to a certain place or just running around and if he wanted to go to a certain place, which it was. Maybe the fallen tree they'd been sitting on, or the stream they'd been fishing in. Or one of the other thousand places that Ciel knew only too well because he had lived alone in the forest for three years.

Sebastian stumbled and fell to his knees. He crouched on the floor for a moment to catch his breath and wonder where Ciel could have went, but he just had no idea. It could be any place. Sebastian got up with the decision to just search every single one, hoping to find him somewhere. The first thing he did was run to the spot by the stream, but Ciel wasn't there. However, Sebastian remembered a place he hadn't even considered yet, but which seemed very likely to him. Sebastian followed the path along the stream, then away from it and slowed his steps as he reached the large willow.

"Ciel?", he called nervously and in fact he was right. The long branches were lifted apart and Ciel walked out between them, gazing at Sebastian, who rushed towards him and hugged him. Ciel snuggled up to him and clung to him. "There you are! I'm so glad I found you I was so worried.”, Sebastian murmured, pressing the fox to himself and nudging his nose into the soft hair. Ciel said nothing and just held on to him.

While the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the tree tops, the two sat down on the soft grass in front of the willow. Sebastian sat cross-legged and Ciel between his legs. He had curled up and was hiding his face at Sebastian's chest. Sebastian kept stroking one hand through his hair, his other arm tightly wrapped around Ciel. The night fell around them. The full moon shone in the middle of the many stars in the sky and bathed the forest in silver light. The trees looked mysterious in the darkness with the shadows surrounding them and occasionally the rustling of the leaves and ferns could be heard when an animal walked by.

At some point Ciel raised his head and looked warmly at Sebastian with big eyes, reddened from crying. He lifted a hand and placed it gently on Sebastian's cheek, studying his features as if he couldn't believe Sebastian was actually here. "Just why are you so good to me? You always protect me, you always take care of me. You gave me a home, food, clothes and your care and never got anything back. And yet you are here and protect me. Why?“, Ciel wanted to know in a shaky voice. Sebastian placed his hand on Ciel's and leaned his forehead against Ciel's. "Because I want to do it. I want to give you all of this, I want to take care of you, I want to protect you, I want you to be with me. Because it makes me happy. You make me happy. Because you are my sweet, wonderful fox. You are my fox and I love you.“, Sebastian answered, looking lovingly at Ciel, whose eyes filled with tears again.

Ciel couldn't form words, instead he kissed Sebastian. He put both hands on Sebastian's cheeks and kissed him, letting himself fall backwards until his back was on the grass. Sebastian let himself be pulled along so he lay on top of Ciel. His hands ran down Ciel's torso to his hips, then back up and under Ciel's crop top. They paused the sweet kiss for a moment to take off their shirts, then their lips found each other again. Ciel wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and held on to him tightly. He occasionally made a pleased sound when Sebastian bit his lip gently or played around Ciel's tongue.

Meanwhile, Sebastian's hands traveled all over Ciel's body, exploring the contours very carefully. He gently stroked the soft skin, the shapes of Ciel's shoulders and collarbone, then down over Ciel's flat stomach that rose and fell with Ciel's breath under Sebastian's hands, and along his sides. Finally his hands moved over Ciel's hips to his butt, which he squeezed very lightly. Ciel moaned loudly and put a hand on Sebastian's, which he pulled forward and placed between his legs, where the pants were already tighter. Sebastian pressed another kiss on Ciel's lips, then let himself sink down.

He kissed a path over Ciel's neck, down to his chest, where he stayed a little longer to suck on Ciel's nipples, making the fox make wonderful sounds. Then his lips moved over Ciel's stomach and legs. Sebastian ran a hand over Ciel's thigh as he spread kisses on the inside of the other. He opened Ciel's pants with the hand that was still on Ciel's erection. Then he straightened up and took it off for him.

Ciel's sight was a feast for the eyes. He was almost naked in front of Sebastian, only the black panties still covered him, his exposed skin seemed to be silver in the moonlight, but the blush on his cheeks was still clearly visible. His lips were wet and swollen from kissing, his eyes veiled with lust, and his breath was quick. He had spread his legs and bent them, his toes dug into the grass and he kept whispering Sebastian's name. Sebastian was convinced that he was in paradise and had an angel in front of him. He tore apart Ciel's panties and tossed them aside to the other items of clothing, then opened the fastener of his pants and let himself sink back onto Ciel.

He distracted Ciel with kisses as he ran a hand down to prepare him. Ciel made a surprised sound, but stayed relaxed when he felt Sebastian push a finger into him. To his surprise, Sebastian found that the fox's body produced some kind of natural lubricant. Relieved, he pushed another finger into Ciel and scissored them, then pulled them back and spread the moisture over his cock.

Finally he wrapped his arms around Ciel and positioned himself between his legs. He gazked at Ciel's face wich gave him a smile that changed to an expression of pure bliss when Sebastian entered. him For a moment, Sebastian just enjoyed the feeling of the warm, damp tightness around his member before he started to pull back and thrust into Ciel again. Ciel moaned loudly and dug his claws into Sebastian's back, as he had done before. His legs wrapped around Sebastian's waist as if by themselves and he kept whispering Sebastian's name as Sebastian brushed his teeth over the skin of Ciel's neck and bit him gently, eliciting a particularly loud moan from Ciel.

Sebastian sucked on Ciel's neck until a hickey appeared. In the meantime, he thrusted faster and harder into Ciel's body. He had found the right angle to hit Ciel's sweet spot perfectly. The fox was like wax in his arms. All he could do was moan and hold on to Sebastian until he finally came and screamed Sebastian's name at the highest point of mutual pleasure while Sebastian filled him with his seed.

The two lay tightly entangled in the grass and tried to catch their breath. Ciel shivered slightly in the night breeze, so Sebastian wrapped him in his T-shirt. After a while he straightened up, gave Ciel the rest of the clothes to hold, and picked him up bridal style. "I'll bring you home, my beloved fox.", he murmured. Ciel snuggled close to him. "Sebastian?", he asked shyly. "Yes?”, “I love you too."


	32. healing

Sebastian stared wearily at the star-studded night sky. He was sitting in the open trunk of his car, drinking wine from a plastic bottle, the canvas on which he had painted the forest around him leaning against him. Sebastian was completely exhausted and tense. His shoulders felt rock hard and motionless from all the sitting at the desk and correcting classwork, his neck ached. It was almost midnight, which meant that he had been here for a few hours, but he still couldn't get himself to get up and drive home. He had been drinking alcohol anyway, which was why he was not allowed to drive, he might cause an accident and die, a thought that Sebastian didn't even care much about. After all, if he died he wouldn't have to come back to school on Monday morning and continue teaching. Or on Tuesday morning or Wednesday morning and all the following mornings, every weekday until retirement. Sebastian sighed. He would just stay here for a while, staring at the stars, pretending he didn't feel like he was an exhausted robot. He would probably sleep in the car again.

When Sebastian took another sip of wine, he suddenly noticed a movement. He looked up at the night sky just in time to see the shooting star. Immediatly, he set the bottle aside and folded his hands. "Please, I just want to a little bit of happiness. That's all. Do I really not deserve that? Please, I just want to be happy. I want to live happily. I just want an angel by my side or something. Please.“, he murmured his wish to the shooting star, not convinced that it would work, but it didn't matter. Sebastian didn't really care. He took another sip, closed the bottle and put it away. Maybe he should just quit his job and change his life completely. It would certainly be difficult. As a teacher one didn't earn so much that he had put aside a lot and he wouldn't get any money from his father, so it would be financially difficult for him to start from scratch, but it would be worth trying and still better than pedaling on his hamster wheel and letting go of the last energy until he finally collapsed. Sebastian lay down, pulled his jacket over himself and closed his eyes.

When Sebastian opened his eyes again, he found that he was lying in his bed in his cottage and that memory he had dreamed of had been quite some time ago. In his arms was Ciel, who was exceptionally awake before Sebastian and playing with his black strands. He was wearing one of Sebastian's white shirts and looked beautiful in the morning sun. A small smile spread across his face when he noticed that Sebastian was awake. "Good morning, my darling.", he greeted him, as Sebastian had greeted him many times. He pressed his soft lips to Sebastian's cheek and snuggled up to him. Sebastian stroked the soft hair and the fluffy ears of his pretty, wonderful lover and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "Good morning, beautful.", he replied, his voice a little scratchy from sleep. Ciel blushed a little at the compliment and pressed his face to Sebastian's chest in a cute way. His tail wiggled back and forth and the soft fur stroked Sebastian's skin.

Sebastian sat up a bit and looked closely at Ciel. "Ciel, I want to ask you something and I ask you to answer honestly.", he said. Ciel blinked irritated and gulped. "Ok.", he replied somewhat uncertainly. "Are you an angel?", Sebastian asked seriously. Ciel stared at him and twitched his ears. "An... angel? Me? Why would you think that?”, he asked confused. Sebastian made an all-encompassing gesture. "The way you look, your personality, how happy you make me, how good it feels to touch you, how wonderful you are and so on. All of this is far too much for a normal mortal being to be able to achieve. You are too good to be true.”, he explained. Ciel shook his head amused. "I'm not an angel.", he clarified, but Sebastian wasn't quite convinced yet. "Are you sure about that?", he asked. Ciel rolled his eyes. "I am sure if I were an angel I would know. That would make it easier for me to get by on my own and my parents would certainly not have let me down.”, Ciel explained, but stopped immediately after the last sentence and avoided eye contact. Sebastian said nothing and instead hugged Ciel. He stroked reassuringly through Ciel's hair.

"Come on.", he said after a while, trying to get up, but Ciel held him back. "Where do you want to go?", he asked, startled. "To make breakfast. Don't you want breakfast?”, Sebastian asked. "I'm not hungry. Can't we stay in bed any longer? I don't want to get up.”, Ciel murmured sheepishly. Sebastian stroked his hair gently and nodded. "Of course we can. You're still upset about what Tanaka told us, aren't you? Do you want to talk about it?”, he asked, hugging Ciel.

For a while Ciel stayed silent and Sebastian thought that meant he didn't want to talk, but in the end he did. "You know, it feels so surreal. As if it wasn't true at all. As if Tanaka had just told a story. Or something that happened to someone else, I don't even feel addressed when I hear my name after all. It's like everything he said wasn't really something that took place in my life. And still...“, Ciel said and fell silent again. Sebastian waited patiently until he continued talking. “Even if I don't remember anything specific, everything fits together. The photo of my mother, the way Tanaka's farm and the horses felt familiar, the fear I felt when you had a headache and I thought you were sick, tue fear I get when I think of fire... It's really creepy not to remember and still have the feeling that what he said is true.", Ciel explained quietly. Sebastian nodded. "I can imagine that.", he murmured in agreement.

Ciel curled up in his arms for protection and held on to him. Some time passed in which Sebastian pondered what he could do so Ciel felt a little better and caressed him. Finally he came up with something. "Wait a moment.”, he told Ciel and jumped out of bed. Before Ciel could protest, he hurried down the stairs and gathered all the sofa cushions, then ran upstairs and dropped his cargo on the bed. He quickly got a few extra blankets and one of his sweaters out of the closet and brought it all to the bed, where Ciel sat confused and surrounded by pillows, watching him. "We'll just stay in bed all day and make ourselves comfortable.", Sebastian explained, putting Ciel in his sweater and starting to arrange the pillows and blankets. After a while he had built a kind of nest in bed in which he then cuddled up with Ciel. "This is a pillow fort. My first nanny taught me how to build something like that. She wanted to give me the opportunity to make a place to retreat to for myself where I could feel safe and secure, no matter how much my parents were arguing. Sometimes she would sit in my fort with me and read to me.”, Sebastian explained. "That sounds nice. Can you read to me too?”, Ciel asked shyly. Sebastian nodded and fetched the book with fairy tales by Oscar Wilde. As he read from it, Ciel curled up in his arms and placed his tail around himself.


	33. strawberries

The two of them spent most of the rest of the day in their pillow fort, leaving it only occasionally to eat some snacks. By the afternoon the pillow and blanket arrangement was completely ruffled and all the clothes they had been wearing lay on the floor next to the bed. Sebastian was half lying on top of Ciel, half next to him, stroking his hair while Ciel caught his breath. "That was good.", he murmured with red cheeks. Sebastian grinned. "Really good indeed. But I didn't hurt you, did I? If I treat you too roughly you have to tell me.“, he replied, which made Ciel giggle and playfully pull on one of Sebastian's longer strands. "You are almost exaggeratedly gentle to me.", he clarified. "Are you sure? The imprints of my teeth on your neck have almost bled.“, Sebastian said and looked at Ciel's neck which was covered with fresh bite marks and hickeys. Ciel giggled again and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "If it had hurt too much, I wouldn't have come when you bit me.", he murmured against Sebastian's lips and kissed him.

As they kissed, a beeping sound suddenly came from Sebastian's bedside table, causing the two to look up in surprise. "What was that?", Ciel asked with his ears pricked up. "Just a text message.", Sebastian said, taking his phone from the bedside table. "It's from Grell. She wants to know how we are and whether we can stop by. I bet she wants to put you in some pretty outfit again.”, he explained as he read the message. Then he looked at Ciel and looked him over. "How are we?", he asked. Ciel snuggled up to him. "Definitely better than yesterday when Tanaka told us about all of this, I would say. Right now very good. Aren't we?”, he said. Sebastian nodded and typed about that into the text box. A moment later, Grell's answer was there. "She says she'll only believe us that we're fine when she sees it for herself.", he laughed, hugging Ciel. He switched his cell phone's camera to selfie mode and took a picture of the two of them snuggled up in bed and sent it to her. Shortly afterwards, the answer came. Grell wrote that she had meant that she would come over with William.

Sebastian sighed and grabbed Ciel and carried him into the bathroom where the two took a shower. Then they got dressed. Sebastian put on jeans and a white shirt, the top buttons of which he left open and the sleeves of which he rolled back. Ciel put on one of his shorts and the red t-shirt that said “I'm not short, my height is just cute.” as well as a pair of red knee high socks. As soon as they were finished, Will and Grell were already at the door. Grell loved Ciel's outfit, especially since it contained a lot of red. "That looks really great! I brought you more things that would make you look great too! Come on, let's try them on!”, Grell shouted excitedly and dragged Ciel and a bag she had brought into Sebastian's bedroom.

William glanced sideways at Sebastian when the two were alone. "Tell me... what happened to Ciel's neck.", he asked, trying to sound casual. Sebastian rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "I happened.", he murmured. Then he told William the short summary of what happened the previous day and night. William was very shocked about Ciel's past. "The poor thing. It is bad enough that his parents are dead, but the way it happened and that he lived alone in the forest is too much. And that he couldn't even remember it...", he murmured sympathetically. Sebastian sighed. "Yes, that's true. Hearing the own life story from someone else is awful, especially if it is one with tragic events. And I'm an idiot, I really should have chosen better timing.”, he said sheepishly. William looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?", he wanted to know. "Well, my love confession came right after Tanaka told us all about it. And then I slept with him straight away. I should have waited with that.”, Sebastian explained his thoughts. "Well, it wasn't that bad. I mean, Ciel wanted it, right? And that after you two got emotional from the story, your feelings rose and wanted to get out is just normal. Besides, you could have done it worse, really. For example, I started my confession of love to Grell with the sentence 'We have to talk'. She thought I was going to break up and started crying.”, William explained.

While Sebastian was still laughing about that, Grell and Ciel came down the stairs. "Tada!", Grell shouted, stretching out her arms and gesturing to Ciel, who stood, a little embarrassed and uncertain, next to her and looked down at himslef doubtfully. Grell had put him in a white blouse and a short dress that was checkered in red and white and embroidered on the hem and had lots of frills. Grell hopped up and down excitedly. "He looks so sweet, doesn't he?”, she exclaimed enthusiastically. Ciel didn't look as pleased as she did. He looked doubtfully at Sebastian, who soaked up the sight. "He really does, but he also looks like he finds it uncomfortable.", Sebastian stated, which made Grell fell silent embarrassed and look at Ciel who nodded. Grell tapped her index fingers together nervously. "Well, he doesn't have to keep it on. Even if it's a shame. He looks like a sweet strawberry in the dress.”, she murmured. Sebastian nodded. "Just put on what you were wearing before.", he suggested to Ciel, who then ran upstairs.

Grell pouted a little more. "Don't take it so hard. He just doesn't like frills.”, William consoled her, but she wasn't really listening because she had an idea. "Speaking of strawberries. We could drive to this strawberry field where you can pick them yourself and get us some. And then Bassy makes a strawberry cake out of it.“, she suggested and clapped her hands excitedly. "Hm... Ciel likes chocolate cake best.", Sebastian muttered undecided. "Did you just say chocolate cake?", Ciel asked curiously when he entered the room again. He was wearing the t-shirt, pants, and knee-highs as before, and on top of that one of Sebastian's white shirts that he hadn't buttoned up. Sebastian put an arm around Ciel's shoulders and explained what Grell had just suggested. "Maybe I don't make a strawberry cake, but I could make jam out of it and then use it to bake jam tarts. I can then pour a chocolate icing over them. What do you think?“, he added. Ciel's tail whipped back and forth excitedly and he nearly drooled at the thought, which made his enthusiastic nod unnecessary.

The four of them had soon taken the two old bicycles out of Sebastian's shed and put pillows on the luggage racks. William rode the one bike, looking very tense and focused, which could be because Grell was swaying back and forth on the luggage rack, making it a little difficult to keep his balance. Sebastian rode ahead of them on the other bike. Ciel was sitting sideways on the luggage rack with his arms around Sebastian's waist. He leaned his head against Sebastian's back and gazed at the forest through which the country road led them. There were no cars on the road, so it was quiet and they had the whole street to themselves. The shadows of the branches and leaves formed beautiful patterns on the floor and a light breeze ruffled Sebastian's hair. After a while he started to sing softly to himself and Ciel listened carefully.

" 'Cause you glue all the pieces back together. Yeah you, you take all my wrongs and make 'em better. Yeah you, you're making me wanna try forever. I feel so free. Oh, my sweet baby.”, Sebastian sang. When he felt Ciel's grip tighten around him, he fell silent to ask if everything was OK. "Yes, I just had to think about when I saw you for the first time. You sang this song as well as the song that I sang for you yesterday.”, Ciel explained happily lost in thought. Sebastian thought about it for a moment, but couldn't remember singing when he caught Ciel stealing cookies. "I sang when we met?", he asked puzzled, but Ciel shook his head. "Not when we met, but when I saw you for the first time. That was a few days earlier. I walked through the forest looking for something to eat, suddenly I heard your voice. At first I was afraid you were a hunter or something, but they don't sing. I became curious and sneaked closer. You sat on the ground and leaned against a tree in the woods all by yourself, singing to yourself while scribbling on your drawing paper with a pencil. You were completely immersed in your work and looked tired. I had no idea who you were and what you were doing, but somehow it was nice to watch and listen to you, so I stayed hidden some distance away. When you left I was disappointed and I hoped you might come back, but you didn't. Out of curiosity I walked in the direction in which you disappeared, when I noticed a delicious smell. I followed it to your house and saw through the window that you baked something. Unfortunately, you didn't put any of it outside, but when I came back the next day there was something to eat on your porch. You put all those tasty things there, I just couldn't help but steal some of them. I'm sorry about that, by the way, but I was just hungry and you gave the impression that you had more to eat, so I didn't eat away all the supplies you needed, did I?", Ciel explained. Sebastian laughed. "No, that wasn't a problem. Really, you can eat as much of my food as you want. I had no idea you heard me back then. So that's why you know the text?”, he replied. Ciel just got to answer the question with a yes when they got to the strawberry field.

The field was large and luckily just unvisited, apart from the four. They left the bicycles on the edge of the field, where there was also a large container in which to throw money for the picked fruits. They took two baskets they had taken with them and walked along the long parallel rows of plants. William took Grell's arm and steered her away from Sebastian and Ciel so he could tell her Ciel's story quietly without Ciel hearing him. The fox ran through the rows with a happily bobbing tail and kept kneeling every now and again to collect some berries and put them in the basket that Sebastian carried after him.

At some point they had reached the middle of the field. Ciel stayed on his knees and ate some strawberries to check the quality, as he said. Sebastian refrained from telling him that it wasn't necessary to get ever single strawberry you can reach without getting up in order to check their quality and instead lay backwards on the ground. His head was resting on Ciel's lap and he watched from below as Ciel happily ate strawberries and as the clouds slowly moved across the blue sky. Next to his face, Ciel's tail twitched until he finally took it in his hands and stroked the soft fur. "Your tail is so fluffy. Like a piece of cloud floof.”, he mumbled happily and pressed Ciel's tail into his face. He sighed relaxed into the silky soft fur and listened to Ciel giggle over him.

"Sometimes you're really cute.", Ciel commented. Sebastian pushed Ciel's tail from his face and pressed it to his chest instead. "The fact that you're the one calling me cute is probably the most ironic thing I've ever heard.", he replied, laughing at Ciel's pouting facial expression. Ciel let his mood be softened by his honest laugh and the puppy eyes look he gave him from below and leaned down. He kissed Sebastian Spiderman style on the lips, then moved back a little and leaned his forehead against Sebastian's. "I'm glad you're so happy.", he murmured. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "I should rather say that to you.", he said, but Ciel straightened up and shook his head. "You used to look terribly tired and exhausted. All the time. And now here you look so relaxed and happy and the dark circles under your eyes are gone. I enjoy seeing you happy. After all, I love you.”, Ciel explained. Sebastian sat up, turned to Ciel and pulled him onto his lap. "And I love you.", he replied, kissing Ciel softly on the lips. When they finished the kiss, they noticed that Grell was standing next to them, enthusiastically taking photos of them, while William was sitting on the ground next to her, filling his basket to the brim with strawberries.

Later, when they got home and Grell and William said goodbye, Sebastian made strawberry jam as announced. He carried Ciel in one arm while stirring the pot with the other hand. Ciel hummed and stroked Sebastian's hair. After a while of peaceful silence, he suddenly kissed Sebastian on the cheek and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Thank you, Sebastian.", he whispered to him. Sebastian looked at him, irritated. "For what?", he asked in surprise. Ciel smiled in thought. "For everything. For your care, for your love, for your protection. You gave me everything I needed from the start. To eat, a home, a warm bed, clothes, care, just everything. Even though you had no idea who I was and where I came from, you just did it. I thought that was too good to be true. I expected you to throw me out soon, but instead you just showed me more how much you love me and how safe I am with you. That was even the first thing you said to me, remember? That you don't want to harm me.”, Ciel explained and gazed at Sebastian as if he were infinitely precious to him. Sebastian was overwhelmed and didn't know what to say. Instead, he just kissed Ciel.


	34. ears

While Sebastian was kneading the dough for the tarts, Ciel hopped around him and kept climbing onto the work surface, only to then jump down again. From now on Sebastian would lock the coffee away, he should have known that Ciel would learn how to prepare it when he saw others doing it. The fox learned tremendously quickly and was very smart, as Sebastian repeatedly found. A few days ago he had taught him to play chess and from the third game on his chance to defeat Ciel was gone for good.

"I have an idea.", Ciel said as he slipped through under Sebastian's arm and placed his feet on Sebastian's. "Tell me. I'm all ears.”, Sebastian replied and pressed a kiss to Ciel's forehead, which wrinkled a little after his last sentence. "No, you are not.", Ciel stated with a critical glance at Sebastian's ears. "They are quite small in fact. Humans don't have big or particularly expressive ears. Anyway, I was thinking about your mother's postcard.”, Ciel went on without letting Sebastian explain that it was just a phrase.

He stood up on his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. “The strawberry field yesterday reminded me of the lavender field on the postcard, so I thought we could write her back. We could send one of the photos that Aunt Grell took yesterday.”, Ciel suggested. Sebastian nodded and freed his fingers from the dough. "That's a good idea. I can tell her about you, she'll be happy to hear that I've finally found someone. She kept saying that I needed a relationship.“, Sebastian thought aloud.

Sebastian took cautious, small steps to the sink so Ciel could keep standing on his feet. "So you really call Grell your Aunt?", he asked, washing his hands. Ciel shrugged. "It makes her happy when I call her that.", he said, still gazing at Sebastian's ears. "Can you even hear anything with them? They look so impractical. And you have holes here, you know that?”, Ciel murmured, poking Sebastian's earlobes. Sebastian laughed and wiped his hands with a dish towel. "Of course I know that, after all I paid for it. That's where the earrings come in. You saw the picture of me with earrings, right?”, Sebastian explained. Ciel nodded excitedly. "The one on which you had long hair and black fingernails, I know.”, he confirmed. This picture was Ciel's favorite photo from the whole album.

Sebastian laughed at Ciel's excitement and picked the fox up. "I can wear earrings again if you want.", he suggested and he immediatly received enthusiastic approval from Ciel. He left the dough and carried Ciel to the bedroom. There he placed Ciel on his own feet and dropped onto the bed, where he lay sideways on Ciel's side of the bed. When he spread his arms, Ciel immediately jumped into the air. His body arched high in the air before he came down with his hands first. For a moment, his face was hidden in the blanket and it looked as if he were about to clumsily buckle, but he landed right next to Sebastian on his side with his back to Sebastian so he could spoon him perfectly from behind.

Sebastian hugged him close and pressed a kiss onto Ciel's neck, which made the fox giggle. While he was still distracted, Sebastian took the small jewelry box out of Ciel's bedside table and put it on the bed next to Ciel. He hadn't gotten it out in a long time and there was a thin layer of dust on it. Ciel pricked up his ears and looked at the jewelry inside. He looked closely at all the bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, which didn't take long because Sebastian's collection wasn't particularly large. Most of it had skulls or similar motifs on it and almost everything was black. Finally, Ciel chose a pair of earrings that had small black raven-shaped pendants with red stones as eyes. Sebastian fastened them to his ears and watched with amusement how Ciel's eyes then grew very big. "They look really good on you.", Ciel murmured amazed. He couldn't tear himself away from Sebastian's sight.

"Well then I'm glad.", Sebastian replied, pressed a kiss to Ciel's lips and lifted the fox up again. Ciel wrapped his legs around Sebastian's waist and his arms around Sebastian's neck as he was carried back to the kitchen. He watched the earrings dangle back and forth on Sebastian's ears and poked them repeatedly with his finger. Sebastian smiled at his enthusiasm. "But you can't play with them the entire time now, otherwise I won't be able to finish baking." he said and Ciel immediately let go of them.


	35. chaotic reunion

Ciel's fingers excitedly gripped the fabric of Sebastian's shirt. The thought of his upcoming meeting with Tanaka's children, whom he knew were his childhood friends but whom he did not remember, made him nervous. While Sebastian was cycling down the country road to Tanaka's Farm, Ciel kept shifting his weight on the luggage rack and asking many questions about the four, which Sebastian patiently answered.

"So Finnian is the youngest, right?", Ciel asked. Sebastian nodded. "Right, he's the youngest. And he's called Finny by everyone.”, Sebastian explained. Ciel chewed on his lower lip and tried to memorize that. "And he was the first one whom Tanaka adopted?", he asked to make sure he remembered it correctly. "Exactly. First came Finny, then Meyrin, then Bard and finally he adopted Snake.“, Sebastian explained. He had already told Ciel all this, but if it calmed the fox, he would happily repeat it. Ciel was about to ask another question when they reached the house.

Sebastian parked the bike right next to the front door and took the box with the jam tarts out of basket. Then he reached out a hand to Ciel, which he immediately took. Ciel was still chewing on his lower lip and gripped Sebastian's hand with both of his own hands. In an attempt to calm him down, Sebastian kissed him on the forehead. "It's all right, you'll see. They'll be nice to you.”, he murmured into Ciel's hair. He had arranged a meeting between the two and Tanaka's family with the old man on the phone after he and Ciel had returned from the strawberry field. The four had been very excited after Tanaka told them about his encounter with Ciel and were eager to see their old friend again.

Sebastian led Ciel to the front door and rang the bell. As he heard steps coming closer from inside the house, he glanced at Ciel, who was half hiding behind him. "Everything will be fine, you will see. You look very pretty, by the way.”, he told him quietly, which elicited a shy smile from Ciel. The fox was wearing the black crop top, a pair of short denim trousers and sandals. While Sebastian glanced with a smile over Ciel's body, the door was opened in front of him. Finny, Meyrin and Bard squeezed outside at the same time and pounced at Ciel, who flinched. "Astre!", they shouted in unison.

Sebastian dropped the box and reached out his now free hand to stop the three, but it was in vain. They were already running wildly to Ciel, who fled onto Sebastian's shoulders in terror. In no time he jumped up at Sebastian and stood with his feet on his left shoulder, his hands on his right, forming a kind of cat hump with his body and hissing accordingly. His tail whipped back and forth and wiped across Sebastian's face so his view was restricted, which was not a good addition to the fact that he had to struggle to keep his balance so Ciel did not fall off and that his hands were busy trying to keep away the teenagers who cheered at the sight of their friend.

"Astre! Astre, you live! I knew that such a clever fox couldn't be killed that easily!”, Bard exclaimed excitedly and grinned broadly while trying to get up to Ciel and stroke him. Fortunately, Sebastian was taller than Bard, which was why he couldn't get to him. "Astre, we thought you died dead! Where have you been all the time?!”, Meyrin called. There were tears in her eyes, making her view even more restricted than it already was and she had to take extra care not to trip. "Astre! Astre! Astre!“, Finny called the entire time and jumped wildly around Sebastian. He was unable to formulate a sentence out of excitement, but he tried to get to Ciel, which made the fox more nervous. The noise and the many reaching for him terrified Ciel. He hissed and whined in a way that hurt Sebastian's heart, since he knew that Ciel always made these noises whenever he was afraid. "QUIET!", he finally shouted at the three and finally they fell silent and stopped.

Sebastian cleared his throat, took a step backwards and spread his arms forward. Ciel immediately leand to the side. His body described a half spin in the air and he ended up lying in Sebastian's arms perfectly, so he was now carrying him bridal style. Sebastian glared at the three in front of him, who made themselves small in face of his anger. "Didn't your father tell you that Ciel, or Astre, has lost his memory and doesn't recognize you?! Can't you imagine that when three strangers jump at him like a bunch of wild, oversized puppies, it frightens him?! How would you feel in his place? If he is your friend, then you should treat him with a little more understanding!”, Sebastian scolded the three, who then looked rather guiltily and apologized quietly to Ciel.

Behind them, Snake and Tanaka came to the door. "There you see the former teacher coming through.", Tanaka murmured with a smile and came up to Sebastian. "Welcome, you two. Please do come in. I just prepared some tea.”, he said, picking up the box that Sebastian had dropped.


	36. jealousy

"Okay, just so I get it right...", Bard said, making a big gesture, "...after a mute, hungry kitsune, whose identity and origins you had no idea about, stole food from your porch, you decided to just let him live with you and take care of him?” Sebastian nodded and stroked Ciel's soft ears. The fox was sitting on his lap, holding one of the tarts which he was chewing on in his hands. "Right, that's exactly how it was. Best decision of my whole life.“, Sebastian confirmed with a smile. Bard blinked. "Well, seems logical enough to me.", he said after a brief silence and shrugged his shoulders.

They had gathered around the dining room table, to drink tea and eat the jam tarts. Sebastian had told the story of how he got Ciel and how they found out about his story bit by bit, but had left out a few intimate details. "And you really remember nothing?", Snake asked softly, "Asks Wilde", he added even more quietly. The python was lying on his shoulders and occasionally let his tongue pop out. Ciel shook his head. "Nothing.", he confirmed again. They had asked him this question several times. It was just difficult for them to understand it. "So you don't know what happened to your eye either? The last time we saw you, it was all healthy.”, Finny said, stretching out a hand to the right side of Ciel's face. Ciel flinched and dropped his tart in surprise. Leaning away from Finny's hand, he hastily stroked his hair over the blind eye and shook his head. "I don't know about that.", he insisted. Sebastian said nothing about it, instead caught the tart and gave it back to Ciel. He was convinced that Ciel had an idea about what had happened to his eye, but as long as he didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force him to do so.

"So much about Ciel, I mean Astre, and me. Now tell us about you guys.", Sebastian suggested, partly to change the subject and partly to give Ciel the opportunity to get to know the five of them better. Immidiatly they began to talk, nearly all at once. Partly they mentioned things from the time before the death of Ciel's parents, but mostly they just talked about themselves. Meyrin showed Ciel her new pair of glasses, a big, round thing with a dark red frame. The glasses were a little better now, so she could see things nearby more easily. She told Ciel about her hobbies, archery and riding, her horse was Rose. Through her, Sebastian and Ciel learned that Ciel had actually known how to ride horses for a long time, if he hadn't completely forgotten how to do it by now. Snake also spoke of animals, but of his snakes instead of horses. He introduced Ciel to Wilde and put the snake around his shoulders for a moment. Ciel remained completely calm, even though he found it a bit uncomfortable how Wilde wrapped himself around him. After a while, Snake took Wilde back and let Finny speak, who talked enthusiastically about plants. He said that Rachel had been incredibly good with plants and he was convinced that she had been able to make plants grow better with her Fox magic. Tanaka contradicted this theory, but Finny didn't let that put him off. Ciel became silent and widened his eyes when Finny talked about his mother.

Finally, Bard spoke up and complimented Sebastian's earrings. "Looks really good on you. Are you going back to your Goth roots?", he asked. Immediately, Ciel's tail began to wag back and forth excitedly and he leaned his head back to look at Sebastian from below with big eyes. Embarrassed, Sebastian rubbed his neck. "Uh...maybe...", he muttered uncertainly. Ciel seemed to take that as a yes, which it certainly would be if he used his cuteness strategically. His tail waved even faster and he turned over in Sebastian's lap to look directly at him. "Will you let your hair grow back then? And will you wear leather jackets again? And will you paint your fingernails black? Like in the photo?", he asked excitedly. Sebastian frowned and smiled with one corner of his mouth. "What's got you so excited about this photo?", he muttered confused. "I've got black nail polish upstairs in my room.", Meyrin said. Ciel gazed at her. "Really? Then we can polish Sebastian's fingernails right now!", he shouted happily. "But... There's no need for us to get up from the table and go upstairs.", muttered Sebastian irritated at the sudden change of subject. "But I wanted to ask you anyway, if it's not too much trouble, to help me with my Latin homework.", Meyrin explained and tapped the tips of her index fingers together. Sebastian sighed. There was no point in discussing it any further. He took a quick look at Tanaka, who nodded at him, then lifted Ciel into his arms and carried him upstairs, following Meyrin to her room.

Once in her room, Sebastian placed Ciel on his own feet and sat down at Meyrin's desk, where her homework was laid out. He read them while Meyrin picked out the nail polish bottle and Ciel looked around the room. It was cosy, with a large bookshelf, her bow hanging on the wall and a bed full of plush pillows. "You made a mistake in the translation here. That means 'at the beginning' and not 'from the beginning'.", Sebastian explained when Meyrin approached him with the nail polish. Thanking her he took the bottle and started to polish his fingernails while explaining the grammar and correct translation to her. Meyrin pulled up a chair and diligently corrected the text she had written with a pencil while Sebastian blew on his fingernails to make them dry faster. 

While the two of them were busy, they kept hearing a hissing behind them. It could be heard in one tone of voice first, then a short pause before there was hissing in a slightly deeper voice, then again in the first, and on and on. Finally Sebastian and Meyrin turned around and saw the cause of the noise. Ciel sat beside the bed, had placed his hands on the edge of the bed and flattened his ears. The hairs of his fur were standing up on his tail and he apparently fought out a staring and hissing contest with Meyrin's cat, which Sebastian hadn't noticed until between the many pillows. The white cat had taken a very similar position to Ciel's and hissed at him. Sebastian stood up and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. "This is Irene and she is very nice if you give her a chance.", he told Ciel. He stroked Irene's head as he did so. The cat immediately started purring and snuggled up into his hand. "You know, she's named after the opera singer Irene Diaz.", Sebastian said, but Ciel didn't listen to him. With wide eyes and mouth hanging open, he watched in shock as Sebastian gently stroked and cuddled the cat, as he usually stroked and cuddled only Ciel. 

Sebastian fell silent when he noticed Ciel's hurt expression. "What's the matter?", he asked irritated. Ciel glared at him. "You have the nerve to ask me that?", he asked in a fragile voice, as if he was about to cry. He got up, grabbed the cat and let it drop to the floor away from Sebastian. "How dare you?! To think that you of all people would betry me like that! You said you love me!", Ciel sobbed. Startled, Sebastian jumped up and wanted to hug the fox, but Ciel turned further away from him and let his head sink. "And yet you touch this beast as if it were so special to you! As if you enjoyed touching her fur so much!", he accused him and stamped his foot at the words. "Ciel, my darling, my angel, I really do love you! You mean so much more to me than that cat, you mean more to me than anything in the world! And your fur is fluffier than hers or any other cat's! I'll never even look at a cat again, let alone pet one! You are the only one for me! There's nothing going on between me and the cat, and there never was!", Sebastian affirmed, dropped to his knees and took one of Ciel's hands into his own hands and covered it in kisses. Ciel was still not ready to forgive him. "But you looked very happy when you pet that thing. As if you liked her tail more than mine.", he accused him and took a step away. Sebastian followed him on his knees and took Ciel's tail with one hand, which he held against his cheek. "That's not true, love of my life. Your tail is the best in the whole world, there is no better fluffiness.", Sebastian protested. Ciel sighed and slowly turned to him. "Do you really mean that?", he asked tearfully. Sebastian moved closer to him on his knees and looked up at him with affection and admiration. "I swear it, my one and only", he said solemnly and finally a little smile appeared on Ciel's lips. He let himself sink into Sebastian's arms and let him hold on to him and shower him with vows of love. Meanwhile Irene had sat down next to Meyrin's feet and calmly cleaned her fur while Meyrin ate popcorn from a small bag she got out of her desk drawer as she watched Sebastian and Ciel with wide eyes.

When the three of them finally came back downstairs, the rest of the family had eaten up the tarts and put the dishes away. The door to the garden was open and Tanaka suggested taking advantage of the good weather and going outside a bit. Finny was already in the garden. He enthusiastically waved a straw basket through the air and jumped up and down. "Astre, come with me! We've let the chickens run around the yard all day, let's go look for eggs!", he shouted. Ciel squeezed Sebastian's hand briefly, then he let go of it and ran after Finny. On his bare tiptoes he crossed the stone path through the garden, unconsciously swinging his hips. Smiling, Sebastian watched as he followed Finny and Snake, who were running around between the chickens that were pecking at the ground all over the yard. 

Meyrin lifted her glasses for a moment to watch them from a distance. "Astre is even faster and lighter than I remember him.", she muttered admiringly, lowered her glasses again and looked at Sebastian. "And you look much happier.", she added. Sebastian took his eyes off of Ciel and looked at her. "You think so? I guess you're right.", he murmured. Meyrin nodded and smiled as well. "And with those black fingernails you look more like yourself. They really look good on you.", she said. Sebastian laughed and looked at his fingernails. "Right, somehow that looks natural on you.", Bard commented as Meyrin walked away from them and crossed the garden with Tanaka. Bard and Sebastian stayed a little longer at the front door and watched the three youngest ones run around. Bard took a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and took one out of it. "It's been a real long time since I've seen Astre. I must have forgotten what he looks like. Either that or he's gotten even more gorgeous.", Bard thought aloud. Sebastian nodded in agreement, his eyes fixed on Ciel. "He's so beautiful.", he murmured.

For a moment, there was silence as Bard lit his cigarette. "He's gotten a little older too. I could ask him to go on a date with me sometime.", Bard said and blew some smoke into the air. Sebastian's gaze wandered from Ciel to Bard. His smile didn't disappear but the expression in his eyes changed from relaxed to angry. He placed one hand buddylike on Bard's shoulder. "Hey, Bard, remember that time we tried wrestling together and I accidentally dislocated your shoulder?", Sebastian asked calmly. Bard laughed at the memory. "Of course I remember that. It really hurt, but I was really impressed that you managed to do it without effort.", he said. Sebastian nodded and patted Bard's shoulder. "What do you think I could do if I actually tried?", he asked in a harmless tone of voice. "Quite a lot. You could probably rip my arm off without any problem if you actually tried.", Bard stated still laughing, but when Sebastian's hand suddenly increased the pressure on his shoulder, he fell silent in surprise. "If you flirt with Ciel, or rather Astre, we'll find out if I can.", Sebastian explained in a completely calm tone but with eyes glowing with rage. His hand on Bard's shoulder brought him to his knees. Hastily, Bard nodded. "Okay, okay, I won't get near him.", he stammered frightenedly. "Wonderful.", Sebastian said, patted him on the shoulder again and then left Bard alone.

He walked to the garden fence against which Tanaka was leaning and watching his children and Ciel. "I have a question.", Sebastian said, after watching for a while as well. Tanaka turned to him. "Yes?", he asked. Sebastian pointed in Ciel's direction. "Is it really a good idea to put a fox among your chickens?", Sebastian wanted to know. Tanaka frowned, but smiled insecurely. "I'm sure Astre won't hurt them. He's not going to hunt them, is he? Why should he behave like a real fox and hunt small animals like those?", Tanaka said, but Sebastian looked at him doubtfully. "Well... Somehow he survived three years alone in the forest and I don't think he ate berries all that time.", he explained. Tanaka's smile slowly disappeared. The two exchanged a look when they heard the anxious clucking of a few chickens. "Ciel!", Sebastian shouted and ran off immediately.


	37. Kitsunes

Ciel pouted as Sebastian carried him back to the garden. H was draped over Sebastian's shoulder like a sack of flour, a few chicken feathers in his hands. "That is just mean! Humans slaughter chickens all the time, but if I want to hunt one down I'm a bad fox! Unfair!“, he complained. Sebastian stroked the fur of his tail. "I know, love. But these chickens are kept to lay eggs, not to be slaughtered.”, he explained. Ciel sighed in frustration. "But they taste good. Especially if you fry them before eating.”, he insisted. "I'll make cream puffs with vanilla filling out of the eggs, ok?", Sebastian suggested for reconciliation. He couldn't see the expression on Ciel's face, but the silence made him assume he was considering the offer. "Ok. I'll leave the chickens alone.”, Ciel finally said. Sebastian lifted him off of his shoulder and into the air. "Wonderful. You are really generous.“, he praised with a smile and put the still sulking fox on the grass.

Finny and Snake followed after the two, not sure what to say, but luckily Tanaka prevented an awkward silence. He walked over to Ciel and placed a hand on his shoulder. “These were some impressive hunting skills that you showed. I'm sure your ancestors would be proud of you. Maybe they'd be happy to know that their genes weren't washed out of their descendants after all.”, he said. Ciel pricked up his ears curiously. "What do you mean by that?", he asked. Tanaka made a gesture to indicate that they should follow him and went to the wooden table that was flanked by two benches, standing in the garden. He sat down and immediately his children and Sebastian and Ciel gathered around him, gazing at him.

"I don't know if you've ever heard of Kitsunes.", Tanaka said to Sebastian and Ciel in a questioning tone. "William mentioned them and I read a bit about them on the internet. They are these Japanese foxe creatures who, as far as I know, often appear in fairy tales as a beautiful woman who marries a man and has children with him, but then leaves when her true nature gets exposed.”, Sebastian told him, frowning. Tanaka nodded in agreement. "True, there are stories like that. But they usually don't tell what happens to the children of such a marriage. Or their children and their children's children and so on. If a kitsune and a human have a child who then has a child with a human, who then has a child with a human, and so on, what is it? It is no longer a real kitsune, too many human genes have been mixed into it, but the genes of a kitsune are persistent like those of any comparable creature and do not disappear.”, Tanaka explained, pointing to Ciel. "At least that's how your mother explained it to me. An ancestor of hers was a real kitsune, whose offspring mingled with humans, many of whom were Europeans, which is why you are now partly a fox and partly a human and have facial features that look European.”, he explained.

"I see, so the ears and the tail are remnants of his ancestors.", Sebastian thought aloud and Tanaka nodded again. "Exactly. Not much of the kitunes is left in Rachel and her son, but the tail, ears and instincts are still there. Rachel told me that she can't work the magic of her ancestors, but still has an inner connection to nature and abilities such as aggravated senses, better physical condition and the like, which can be traced back to this magic.", Tanaka told them. "That's why I can hunt so well and handle living in the forest? Because of my fox genes?”, Ciel asked. "I assume so.", Tanaka said, peering over the garden fence at the chickens, who had calmed down again from the fox's attack. "But luckily Sebastian was quick enough to prevent this hunt from being succesful.", he added.

Once again Ciel pouted. He pulled his legs up, wrapped his tail around himself and cuddled backwards to Sebastian, on whose lap he was sitting as always. “He is much better at helping me hunt than preventing me from it. When we caught fish by hand, he caught even more than I did, although he has no quicker reflexes.", Ciel told them. "You were high with coffee, that makes it quite easy for you to reach past a fish.", Sebastian laughed. Finny who was sitting next to Sebastian widened his eyes in surprise. "Woah, can you catch fish by hand? How cool!“, he marveled. Sebastian rubbed his neck in embarrassment, but Ciel smiled contentedly and proudly lifted his chin. "Yes, he can do that and he's really good at it. I chose a good hunter who can take care of me without any problems. And he's strong too. When he lifts me up, it's like I don't weigh anything at all from his perspective. And on top of that he's caring. I couldn't have chosen a better mate.”, Ciel boasted proudly. Sebastian was flustered by the praise. "You are almost underweight, baby.", he murmured, but Ciel shook his head. "You are insanely strong. You can lift everything without problems, not just me.”, he stated stubbornly.

While the two were talking like this, Meyrin took her phone out of her pocket. Sebastian and Ciel were just too cute to not take a picture of them. She zoomed in on the two and clicked to take a photo of Ciel proudly gushing about his mate on Sebastian's lap while Sebastian smiled sheepishly and wrapped his arms around Ciel's stomach. When she took the picture the others noticed that and the next moment everyone posed for a group picture. Meyrin switched to selfie mode, turned her back to the rest of the group and took a picture of them all. After she put away her phone, she got up from the table. "Let's show Astre the rest of the farm too.", she suggested to her siblings, who enthusiastically agreed. Ciel got up, took Sebastian's hand and pulled him up to follow together after the four.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with that stuff about the decendants of Kitsunes and for the Kitsunes themselves I mainly used Wikipedia as my source so don't take that stuff too serious.


	38. riding

Tanaka's children ran enthusiastically across the farm and told Ciel, whom Sebastian was carrying on one arm, everything from facts about the animals to anecdotes that sometimes included Ciel. They first visited at the sheep. The animals remained completely calm in Ciel's presence and let him pet them. Then they went to the horses that were still in the paddock and Sebastian said that he had shown them to Ciel before. Alice immediately came up to them and let Ciel pet her. "I'm not surprised at all. In the past it was always Alice that Astre was riding.“, Meyrin explained and exchanged a look with Finny. "Do you think he can still ride or did he forget that?", Finny asked. "We can try it out.", Sebastian suggested.

While Finny and Sebastian fetched the saddles and saddled Alice and Betty, Ciel and Meyrin went to her room so he could borrow one of her breeches, a pair of riding boots and a helmet. A short time later, Sebastian lifted him onto Alice's back and sat on Betty's himself. In fact, it didn't take long for Ciel to find his way around. The two rode side by side across the paddock. At first, Ciel was still a bit unsure and Sebastian explained to him what he had to do, but over time he got better and better until he no longer needed Sebastian's help. Sebastian enjoyed watching him ride across the meadow with Alice, a bright smile on his face. "We could go for a ride through the forest.", he suggested to Ciel. He wanted to be alone with Ciel for a while again and watch him longer. Ciel enthusiastically agreed and they agreed with the others that they would ride through the forest and then come back.

On the grassy forest floor, the sound made by the horses' hooves was muffled and mixed with the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds. Sometimes the path was a little too narrow to ride side by side, then Sebastian let Ciel take the lead and watched as Ciel's hips swayed in harmony with Alice' movements. Most of the time the path was wide enough so they could ride side by side though. They had been out for a while when Sebastian suggested taking a break in a small clearing. It was densely surrounded by trees, so it was shady and shielded them from view. While the horses were grazing peacefully, Sebastian sat down on the ground and pulled Ciel onto his lap.

He helped his fox take off his helmet and massaged his soft ears, which had been squeezed underneath it the entire time. Ciel sighed relaxed and leaned his forehead against Sebastian's chest. "That feels good. Thank you.”, he murmured, holding onto Sebastian's t-shirt. Sebastian gave him a kiss on the hair. "What do you think about your old friends?", he asked. Ciel looked up at him. "They are nice, as you said. I like them. Even though they scared me at first. It's a strange feeling when people you don't recognize know so much more about you than you do.”, Ciel explained. Sebastian nodded in understanding. His massage spread from Ciel's ears to the rest of his head and down to his neck.

Ciel sighed with pleasure, closed his eyes and leaned his head back into Sebastian's touch. Unconsciously, he gave Sebastian easy access to his lips thereby. He opened his eyes in surprise when Sebastian kissed him, but quickly closed them again and placed his hands on Sebastian's cheeks. He moaned softly as Sebastian pushed his tongue into Ciel's mouth and explored it. In the meantime Sebastian let his hands move further down and slipped them under Ciel's crop top. Impatiently, Ciel tugged at Sebastian's and his shirt until Sebastian took them off and hugged Ciel tightly. "Sebastian?", Ciel murmured as Sebastian spread kisses over his neck and ran a hand to his bottom. "Riding is fun.", Ciel continued. Sebastian smiled at Ciel's neck. "That's true. Would you prefer to continue riding?”, he asked. Ciel nodded, which disappointed Sebastian at first, before Ciel explained what he meant. "I want to ride you.", he said, blushing.

Sebastian immediately pressed more kisses onto Ciel's mouth and neck. He helped the fox out of his breeches and opened the fastener of his own trousers. Ciel gripped Sebastian's shoulders as he helped him sink onto Sebastian's erect cock. Sebastian pressed him down on it very slowly until he had completely sheathed it inside of Ciel. Ciel moaned and clung to him, his claws stinging into Sebastian's shoulders. "Does this feel good?", Sebastian asked quietly. Ciel just nodded, too absorbed in the feelings to form words. Sebastian smiled and pressed a kiss to Ciel's lips.

He gripped Ciel's hips and helped him ride him. He kept lifting him up until Ciel knelt over him, then pulled him down again. At first the rhythm was very slow, but over time it got faster and faster. Ciel's sight was stunning, his reddened face showing pure bliss and his beautiful naked body looked cute and seductive at the same time. Sebastian could have gotten off of that alone, but holding his pretty boy in his arms and thrusting into him gave Sebastian the feeling of being in heaven. It wasn't long before the two came together. Screaming Sebastian's name, Ciel collapsed in Sebastian's arms and let him hold him.

The two stayed there for quite a while longer, snuggling while the horses continued to graze as if nothing unusual was going on. "How are you feeling, baby?", Sebastian asked at some point. Ciel just gave a tired purr in response. Sebastian chuckled. "Next time we'll do it in a bed again. You can sleep right away afterwards. Do you think you can ride back? “, he wanted to know. Ciel sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What you said about cream puffs, did you mean that you would make them today or some other time?", he asked back. "I can still make some today. Or we could eat ice cream. I happen to know from a reliable source that the Tanakas have some chocolate ice cream in the fridge.”, Sebastian explained and scratched Ciel behind the ears. From the way Ciel's tail began to bob, he could tell that it was working. Ciel sat up. "Let's ride back.", he said, pressing another kiss to Sebastian's mouth before getting up.


	39. playing

Ciel held on to Sebastian's shirt as he watched with pricked ears and excitedly wagging tail as he prepared a small bowl of ice cream for him. Sebastian spooned a considerable amount of chocolate ice cream into the bowl and sprinkled fresh raspberries and blueberries on top of it, then garnished the whole thing with some chocolate sauce. Lifting the bowl high into the air so Ciel could not reach it, although he was jumping around Sebastian, Sebastian went to the table and set it down there. The next moment Ciel was sitting in front of it and started shoving spoonfuls of ice cream into his mouth. He made a purring sound when Sebastian kissed him on top of his head, his eyes lit up with the taste of the ice cream. Sebastian let him eat in peace and went back into the kitchen to prepare the same dessert for Meyrin, Finny and Snake.

By the time the three also started to eat, Ciel was already done. He licked his lips and clung to Sebastian, rubbed his head against him and purred, partly to thank him and partly to beg for more. It worked really well. Sebastian lifted Ciel up by the hips so his legs dangled in the air and pressed his nose into Ciel's hair. "Darling, if you eat too much sweets, you won't have appetite for dinner later. But well, I guess one more makes no difference. Okay.", he said, wanting to sit Ciel on the sofa and then go back to the kitchen, but before he could do that he stumbled over something. Sebastian placed Ciel on his own feet, picked up the object and turned to the table. "Meyrin, you left the cat toy here.", he said, lifting the plastic stick with the feathers at the end up to prove his words.

When he turned back, to his astonishment he noticed that Ciel's eyes were very wide and fixed on the feathers. His tail was sticking up into the air, his muscles tense and his ears pricked up. His whole posture looked similar to the one he had a few hours ago when he was trying to hunt down a chicken. As a test, Sebastian moved the toy back and forth and Ciel's gaze really followed the tuft of feathers. Sebastian could not suppress a grin and let the feathers soar through the air. Ciel immediately jumped after them and held out his hands to reach them, but the feathers slid through his fingers and he came back up on the floor, but did not let that deter him and immediately jumped again.

He was incredibly fast and could jump very high, which was why Sebastian had a hard time keeping up with Ciel, but he managed to make the feathers dance around in front of Ciel's nose. He was fascinated to see how excited Ciel was. Had he not known how easy it was for Ciel to kill his prey, he would have thought that the fox would not only play but hunt seriously. After a while Sebastian held the feathers over a corner of the sofa where there were more cushions and in perfect fox style, Ciel jumped up, let his body describ a high arch in the air, sinking with his hands and head first into the mountain of cushions, like into a pile of snow. Sebastian laughed, dropped to the floor and pulled Ciel out of the cushions and onto his lap.

He scratched Ciel behind the ears and complimented him on how skillful he was while Ciel snuggled up to him. Meanwhile, Tanaka came into the room. He had been upstairs in his bedroom up until now and had only seen the end of the game. He watched Sebastian and Ciel somewhat irritated and then looked questioningly at his children, who only shrugged their shoulders. Finally he went to Ciel.

"Astre, look. I found an old photo, I thought maybe you would like to have it.”, he said and gave Ciel a photograph showing his parents and a younger version of himself on the porch of their house. Ciel's excitement about the game was instantly gone and he stared at the picture. There was silence for a while and finally Sebastian lifted Ciel up and sat him on the sofa. The fox continued to stare at the picture while Sebastian, looking at the clock and said they would be heading home now.

He led Ciel to the front door by the hand and helped him into his sandals. Before they said goodbye, Ciel turned to Tanaka. "The house in the picture... Is there anything left of it?", he asked. "Well, primarily ashes. I think the foundations are still there, but the rest of it is completely burned down. And it is not possible to transport the remains away because it is at the edge of the nature reserve and large machines cannot drive there, it is just a narrow dirt road that leads from the street to the house.”, Tanaka explained. Ciel nodded in thoughts, then turned to the others. Each member of the Tanaka family hugged him goodbye, only Bard left it at a friendly pat on the shoulder, nervously watching Sebastian from the corner of his eye. Finally Sebastian and Ciel left the house and started cycling back.


	40. the burned house

While they were cycling home through the forest, Ciel was silent. He held on to Sebastian and leaned his head against his back without looking at the forest around them as usual. Sebastian wasn't sure if he was just so absorbed in thought or if he was too depressed. He wanted to say something to distract Ciel, maybe cheer him up, but before he could think of anything, Ciel broke the silence by himself. "Sebastian? Do you think you can find the house, the remains of the house?”, he asked shyly. Sebastian thought about it for a moment. “Based on what Tanaka said, it should be easy. There is only one road through the part of the forest in which all the houses that belong to him are located and I also know where the nature reserve is located. Then I just have to look for the dirt road he mentioned.“, he explained. Ciel nodded thoughtfully and fell silent again for a while. "Can we go there and see it?", he finally asked.

It took a while, but in the end it was easy to find the right way. Sebastian got nervous as he cycled down the path, getting closer to the charred remains of the house. He stopped next to it, helped Ciel off of the luggage rack, and parked the bike. Ciel clung to Sebastian's arm, one of his hands disappearing into Sebastian's. He trembled a little as he stared at the blackened beams and walls with wide eyes. His ears were flattened so much that they almost disappeared into his hair and the fur on his tail was puffed up. He looked so scared that Sebastian immediately wanted to get him away from here and home, but before he could do that, Ciel took the first tiny step towards the house. He really wanted to see it, so Sebastian sighed and walked closer to it, which made it easier for Ciel, to just let himself be pulled along.

The house had been the same size and width as Sebastian's and had an upper floor too, that, when it had crashed down during the fire, buried the ground floor below. Since it had collapsed, all that was left of the house was a mess of charred wood and debris that could not be entered. Efforts had been made to bring at least some order to the whole chaos and the area around the house had been cleared of fallen bricks and ashes. The house was standing in a clearing and the distance to the trees had apparently been just enough to prevent a forest fire.

Sebastian and Ciel circled the house until they were on its backside. The side on which, like Sebastian's house, was the veranda. They had seen this veranda before. The picture of Rachel had been taken there, as had the one Tanaka gave to Ciel. Now there was nothing left of the veranda. They stood in front of the house in silence for a while, until Ciel finally led Sebastian away from the house towards the edge of the forest. The way there led to upwards a bit, almost on a hill on which a lonely cherry tree stood. Many of its pink blossoms had already fallen to the ground and lay on top of the grass. Next to the tree was a large stone on which someone had carved an inscription. Sebastian was startled when he recognized his own name on it, but then he remembered the deceased dog of the Phantomhives. Ciel pulled Sebastian down with him and the two sat down under the tree. Sebastian leaned his back against the tree trunk and crossed his legs, between which Ciel curled to a ball. He wrapped his tail around himself, his head rested in Sebastian's arm, Sebastian's other hand kept petting his hair.

While Ciel stared at the house, Sebastian's eyes remained on him. He looked so small and vulnerable, when he curled up like that and with the fur being as puffed up as much as it was, his tail looked as if it was as big as himself. Sebastian gazed at him and wondered what was going on in his pretty head, but he did not break the silence in order to give Ciel time to process everything. Instead, he took off his t-shirt and put it around Ciel like a blanket, partly to give him a sense of security, partly to protect him from the cool breeze that was coming up. The previously sunny sky was now covered with clouds and Sebastian feared that there would be a thunderstorm at night. As he continued to stroke Ciel's hair, the little fox's eyes gradually closed. "I remember it now.", Ciel murmured so quietly that Sebastian almost didn't hear him. "I remeber what happened that day and what he did.", Ciel continued, touching his right eyelid, "I remember how much my father freaked out."


	41. Ciel's memories

Astre sat huddled on the stairs and sobbed. Behind him the door to his parents' bedroom was half open, if he looked over his shoulder he could see his mother's cold, dead body lying on the bed. She had been dead for several hours and while Astre was crying and could not believe it, his father ran through the house completely distraught. Vincent restlessly rummaged through all the cupboards and drawers, muttering to himself. At first he hadn't been able to believe the death of his beloved wife. He had shaken her by the shoulders and asked her to wake up, but it hadn't worked, and now his initial disbelief was replaced by a mixture of panic and anger.

Astre lifted his head when he noticed a slight smell of fire coming from the living room. He jumped up in panic and ran down the stairs, worried about what his father could do to himself. When he reached the living room, he stood petrified. His father knelt in a pile of photos, which he burned one by one with a lighter. "What are you doing?" Astre called and snatched the photo of his mother, sitting happily smiling on the porch, out of his hand before more than one corner of it could burn. When he looked around, Astre found that all sorts of objects belonging to Rachel were scattered throughout the room. Amazed, he picked up her favorite gray t-shirt. "What's all this about?", he asked Vincent, who didn't seem to see or hear him. He was deep in thought and stared at the floor. "It makes no sense, not one bit. When she is no longer here, it is not a home. I only bought it so it would be our home, but without her it will never be a home again.”, Vincent murmured.

Astre wanted to ask what he meant by that, but there was no need to. Vincent got up and got a canister with a fire accelerator, which he generously spread on the floor, the furniture and even the walls. Astre watched him rigid with terror. He gathered all his courage and told himself that Vincent didn't know what he was doing and he had to stop him. So he pressed the t-shirt and the photo to his chest with one hand, with the other hand he reached for his father and held him by the arm. "Stop it! Stop it!”, he called, but Vincent was too caught up in his pain. To shake Astre off, he jerked the canister into the face. "Keep your mouth shut! You don't understand this! Get away, you stupid brat!”, he shouted, without really recognizing his son. He accidentally poured some of the fire accelerator into one of Astre's eyes and immediately Astre cried out in pain, released him and stumbled backwards. Full of fear he ran away. He ran up to the cherry tree on the hill behind the house and fell to the ground next to the dead dog's tombstone. Oh, how much Astre wished Sebastian was by his side, but he was alone as he watched the house go up in flames. Helpless and frozen with shock, Astre watched the fire eat up the walls until the whole house burned. Vincent stumbled outside and ran straight to his car. Without even glancing at Astre, he drove off and never returned.

As the house burned behind him, Astre stumbled towards the forest. His whole body trembled and his right eye felt like it was on fire too. Astre couldn't tell how far he was running through the forest, but at some point his body just gave in from exhaustion. Astre fell to the ground and just barely managed to curl up under a few bushes. He lay there completely still, staring into the darkness of the night. In just a few hours, he'd lost everything he had. His mother was as dead as his beloved dog, his home where he had grown up in was on fire and his father had cast him off in pain. Astre was completely overwhelmed by the events and the pain they caused. He wanted to get away from here and never live here again. He wanted to forget it all. And if he was not loved and acceptedby them no matter what, he never wanted to get anywhere near another person again. Completely exhausted and scared, Astre fell asleep at some point.

When he woke up the next morning, he found that he didn't know the part of the forest he was in. And, even worse, he was hungry. Astre put on his mother's t-shirt and put the photo into his pocket, then he set off to explore the forest. He tried to suppress the memories of long walks in the forest with his parents so he didn't have to cry again, and focused on foraging. He found some berries, but wasn't sure if they were poisonous. When he tried something that he thought was wood sorrow, he realized that he had apparently been wrong. And when he tried to hunt a rabbit, it was gone before he could get anywhere near it. Now Astre started to cry again. He didn't know what to do and he was completely alone. Exhausted, he sat down by a stream to at least drink some water and when he saw his reflection in the water, he was startled. His right eye was cloudy and looked strange. When he looked up and looked at the area around him for a test, he found that it had gone blind. He jumped up in panic and despair and ran back and forth until he finally collapsed next to a tree. He sobbed and cried until he couldn't anymore. He took his mother's photo from his pocket. If only she were with him. She would hug him in her arms, stroke his ears and tell him that everything would be fine.

As he sat there, he gradually calmed down. He started to pay close attention to his surroundings. His fine ears heard the rushing of the water very clearly, when he concentrated he could distinguish the individual birds in the trees by their twittering, he even heard a deer stepping on a branch upstream on the bank when it wanted to drink . The wind brought smells of leaves and earth and animals to his nose and he took a deep breath to perceive them all closely. When he looked around he found that his remaining eye could see very clearly, even small details on the forest floor. He saw the paw prints of rabbits that hopped past here a few hours ago, and the hoof marks of the deer that had grazed here before heading to the stream. Astre looked back at the photo and this time he looked at his mother's tail and ears. She had been a fox, just like he was. In Japan she had lived in a shrine with stone statues of foxes, eaten offerings and prayed to the goddess Inari. Rachel had promised her son that one day she would take him there and tell him about his great wild ancestors, who had worked magic and had spoken to deitys. Astre lowered the picture and looked up at the forest again. The foxes among his ancestors had left their mark on him too, so he didn't have to be afraid. At least that's what he told himself.

From then on he was doing better. Life in the forest was exhausting, but once you got used to it, it actually went quite well. After lots and lots of practice, he was really good at sneaking to his prey until he started walking as silently as possible all the time. The blind eye was easily compensated for by the other senses, even if he still loathed the sight of it, although he wasn't sure why. Gradually only the forest seemed to exist to him, he knew no other home. When he followed the stream, he had found a large, hollow willow tree and was relieved to have found shelter without having to dig a burrow, which would have been very tiring. He made himself comfortable there and improved his sleeping place with pieces of moss and the pelts of animals he had killed. Over time he became a really good hunter, which was due to the amount of practice, because he was now hunting every day. At first, he had to focus on finding enough food every day, other than that he slept most of the time, but when he finally got so good at hunting that he only needed part of the day for it, there were occasional moments when he was bored. He tried to invent new games, what he had played as a child, like so many other things, he had forgotten without really being aware of it. He tried out games such as stacking pine cones into figures, throwing stones into the water, or placing leaves on the floor to form a pattern, but none of it was all that interesting

Surprisingly, the most interesting activity that he found came from the least welcome visitors to his territory, namely humans. There were paths in the forest that they often walked on, sometimes accompanied by dogs, sometimes on the backs of horses, but no matter whether they had animal companions or not, they were kind of scary. The people were confusingly loud so they scared away all the animals around them and some ran through the forest even though they were neither hunting nor being hunted. The fox did not understand them, they behaved strangely and he could see no meaning behind their actions. On top of that, they sometimes dropped something without even realizing it, or even deliberately dumped strange objects somewhere. This made the fox curious and he examined what he found. There was everything there, from crackling, pretty paper and something that looked like round stones, once the fox even found a gray box that he took with him to collect stuff in there. He made a small collection of the strange things and pretty stones and passed boredom in moments when he couldn't go outside by looking at his collection.

Such times occurred especially when it was raining or during winter. It could get really cold in his tree, but his body adapted to it. When Astre had thought that there was still something of his ancestors in him, he hadn't realized how much he was right. The fox genes slumbered in him when they were not needed, but now that they were, they came out. His instincts woke up and his body protected itself. In autumn a winter fur started growing all over his body and he looked more like a real fox than usually. The fur was the same color as his hair and tail, and it was fluffy and warm. It fell off again in spring, so he didn't get too hot during summer. So the fox got on well. He was lonely and alone and had to make an effort to survive, but he was doing fine. Or at least good enough. His life remained the same for quite some time until he made a fascinating discovery on a beautiful summer day.

The fox was walking through the forest, wondering what he would hunt today when he noticed an unusual sound. He stopped and pricked up his ears. It was obviously a human voice, but instead of the usual noise exchange called words, this person did something strange with his voice. He shaped it into a melody. The fox curiously crept closer, following the voice, until he could finally see him. He hid behind a bush and cast shy looks from behind it. The human was sitting on the ground, his back leaned against a tree, he was staring at a large piece of paper on which he was driving around with a pen and he was singing to himself. His voice was the most beautiful one the fox had ever heard, he was sure of that. And the voice wasn't the only beautiful thing about him. The man was tall and strong, his hair was black like raven feathers and silky, a few strands fell in his face, which was remarkably good looking. His eyes were almond-shaped, had dark shadows under them and the colour of his eyes looked almost red, his skin was pale and it was easy to see, despite his sitting posture, that if he got up he would be a lot taller and broader than the fox. The fox watched him from afar, fascinated. Unlike other humans, the presence of this man made him feel calm. He was certainly strong enough to tear the fox into pieces, but he looked as if he would rather use his strength to protect him, a thought that made the fox's heart beat faster. Still, impressions could be deceiving, so he stayed at a distance and watched and listened to the man until he got up and walked away to the fox's disappointment.

The fox knew that humans could be dangerous. He had seen a lot of hunters and it was probably just luck that it hadn't been the other way around. Still, he was very taken with the black-haired man and he ran to the place where he had seen him the next day, but he wasn't there. The fox examined the spot where he had been sitting, but the human had left nothing that he could add to his collection to at least have something to remember him by. Only some of his smell was still there and the fox breathed this scent deep into his lungs. He waited a while in the area before he realized that the man would not come back and continue singing. The next day the man didn't come back either and the fox somehow got sad by that. He decided to do some try and search for him to see if there was a chance he would come back, so he walked into the direction in which the man had left. It wasn't long before the fox suddenly noticed a scent. It wasn't that of the human, but it was one that let the water in his mouth run together. When he followed the smell, he found a house in the forest. The fox stopped at the edge of the forest in surprise. He had never seen this house before, but the smell he had followed clearly came from there and mingled with the smell of the man he was looking for. The fox nervously crept closer and peeked carefully through a window. Really, he could see the black-haired man in it. He was busy preparing something. The fox couldn't see what, but he was excited anyway. He had found not only the human, but also the human's burrow.

When the fox came back the next day, he was amazed to find that a bunch of grapes were lying around in front of the human house. Fruits were the sweetest food he could find and he hadn't seen so many large grapes in a long time. His mouth watered and his stomach growled. Spontaneously he grabbed the grapes and ran away. They really tasted wonderful. The fox loved sweet foods, of which he found even more when he came back the next day. He stared in surprise at the sweet pastries that stood there. It was too good to be true, maybe it was a trap, he thought, but it didn't smell toxic and nobody was around, so he took it with him and it tasted fantastic. The fox could not remember ever eating anything so delicious, but food sources quickly dried up. If one found something tasty, one had to make an effort to get as much of it as possible before one missed the chance. So every day the fox got some of the food that was standing around in front of the interesting human's house. Even when there was nothing to eat, it was nice to be there. It was nice to watch the human. The man often smeared with paint on white rectangles until a picture was created and sometimes he sang again while doing so.

This went on for a while until one day something extraordinary happened. Usually there was either something to eat or the human in front of the house, but today both were the case. The fox had already gotten some food, but had noticed that there was more and had stayed nearby, but then he found that the man sat down near the sweet food and started another picture. The fox was unsettled. Had he angered the person so he no longer wanted to feed him? Or was that a coincidence? Should he rather leave? Or could he get some food? He remained uncertain for a while, but finally decided to get the delicacy. The man's back was turned to him, so he couldn't notice him as long as the fox was quiet. Somehow this plan didn't work though. The fox had barely gotten himself some of the sweet delicacies when he suddenly realized that the man had turned to look at him. Startled, he dropped everything and wanted to run away, but before he got anywhere, the man grabbed him and held him close to him. The fox panicked and tried to defend himself, but the man did something completely unexpected. "Don't worry, little one, I don't want to hurt you.", he said, holding out the food to the fox. No one had spoken to the fox for a long time and he hadn't used his own voice until he had almost forgotten that he could do that at all, but he still understood this man's words. He didn't want to do any harm to him. He wouldn't hurt him. He was safe with him. The fox stared at him in disbelief and at the food he was offering. Then he grabbed it and ran away as fast as he could, but the man didn't give up. He tried to lure the fox towards him. This person was definitely the strangest being that the fox had ever seen, but still, he hadn't lied. He did no harm whatsoever to the fox, on the contrary, he fed him. He was kind to him and touched him very gently, careful not to hurt him on accident. The fox had been alone for so long, the human's touches felt so good that when he suddenly stopped, the fox was disappointed, but the next moment he got picked up by the man and was carried inside his home.

From then on, the fox lived alongside this human. At the beginning he was still very uncertain about how he should behave and how he should interpret the human's behavior. The fox knew that if he could remember his past better, he could actually understand much more of it, but he barely knew anything of what had been before he lived in the forest. At the very beginning he also had trouble understanding the words that man said, but he understood enough to know that he called him Ciel. This word actually had a meaning already, but the human preferred to assign the word to the fox. The fox didn't mind, he remembered the concept of names, but unfortunately the human didn't know that, so he didn't introduce himself and for the time being the fox simply started thinking of him as his human.

His human grew dear to his heart in no time, but sometimes he just couldn't make sense of him. From time to time he accidentally frightened Ciel and did not notice it at first, but for his part he frightened himself unnecessarily about something that Ciel did. For example, he panicked when he tried to bring him a fish to reciprocate for the food he provided, but then drove away in his car, which terrified Ciel because for some reason he thought his human would never come back. In general, however, it was extremely pleasant to be with his human. He took care of Ciel, gave him food and dressed him in soft fabrics that gave off the smell of his human, he gave him a lot of his attention, let Ciel generally do what he wanted and, best of all, he pet and cuddled Ciel to his heart's content. It felt wonderful when he stroked his hand over his hair or fox ears and hugged him in his strong arms. It was just heaven on earth, it was too good to be true, and Ciel wasn't sure if his human wouldn't have enough of him at some point, but that never happened. On the contrary, his human started kissing him, introduced him to his friends and bought nice things for him. He made him a major part of his life. Ciel was so grateful to him. This handsome, strong, tall fool, who was called Sebastian, as Ciel finally found out, had given him everything he wanted and more, and only for his sake. He didn't want anything in return, not even a thanks, he even said that Ciel made him happy. Sebastian showered Ciel with his love and accepted Ciel's love in return as he accepted everything about him. Ciel felt comfortable and safe with him. He was safe in his arms. In Sebastian's strong arms, in which he carried Ciel home, away from the burned house and the thunderstorm coming up and to their home.


	42. Berenice

William made a detour on his way to work to drop Grell in front of her shop. Like every morning, he stopped and let Grell kiss him on the lips before she got out of the car. Today, however, she paused before heading to her shop and looked surprised at the woman who was just leaving the shop. "She seems familiar to me somehow.", Grell said in surprise. William leaned over to see the woman. She was in her mid-fifties, slim and very pretty. She wore a loose dress that was as raven black as her waist-length hair, with a few shorter strands on each side framing her oval-cut face. She took off her sunglasses, revealing her almond-shaped, reddish-brown eyes, and got into a taxi. William frowned. "You're right. I also have the impression that I know her, but I have no idea why.”, he said. Grell thought about it for a moment. "I think she is an actress. I'm sure I've seen a movie with her before.”, she said finally. William shrugged, let Grell kiss him again, then drove away.

Sebastian had found a hammock in the boxes in his attic and hung it up on his veranda. Now he was lying in it, Ciel curled up half on top of him, half next to him and wrapped in one of Sebastian's white shirts. For Ciel, Sebastian's shirts had become something like comfort blankets that could be worn. As soon as they got home the previous evening, he had dressed in one and had not yet took it off. The memories that had come up had churned him up and he wanted some security to feel better again. It had been an exhausting night. Ciel was already sad anyway, but the thunderstorm at night excited him even more and he also couldn't sleep. Instead, he had whispered to him,deep in the pillow castle that Sebastian had built, what he could remember.

By the next morning both had calmed down. Sebastian rested his chin on Ciel's head and was playing with Ciel's ears with one hand while reading one of the books of Sherlock Holmes stories which he held in the other. One of his legs was hanging from the hammock, his foot was resting on the floor and he was using it to rock the two a little bit back and forth. He was halfway through reading The Speckled Band when the doorbell suddenly rang. Sebastian sighed in frustration. "Why do we have to be constantly interrupted? At some point I'll just remove the bell.”, he murmured, when the bell rang again. Ciel hid his face in Sebastian's chest and made an unwilling noise, his hands clenched in Sebastian's t-shirt. "Let's just pretend we're not at home.", Sebastian murmured in complete agreement with Ciel, but then the doorbell rang several times in a row. Sebastian rolled his eyes and peeled himself out of the hug with Ciel. "I'm sorry, baby, but I'll be right back.", he said to him, pressing a kiss on the pouting fox's forehead and walked through the house to the front door.

When he opened the door, he froze in surprise. A woman with long black hair in a long black dress smiled at him. "My god, you have grown again, I swear.", she said as she eyed Sebastian. "Mum?!", Sebastian called and hugged her tightly. "Sebastian, my dear boy, it's so nice to see you again.", she replied, patting his head and pressing a kiss on his cheek as he lifted her up and carried her into the hallway. The driver of the taxi she had come with carried her suitcase after them and received his payment from Berenice while Sebastian ran back to the porch. Ciel stared at him in shock when he saw the lipstick on his cheek, but before he could ask a question, Sebastian lifted him into his arms. "Ciel, baby, you won't believe it! My mother is here!”, Sebastian exclaimed with joy and carried the fox into the living room, where Berenice was already standing and looking around.

When the two came in, her attention was immediately on Ciel and she burst out in excitement. "Gosh, he's actually even cuter in real life than on the photo you sent! What a deary!”, she shouted happily. She hurried over to the two, took Ciel's hands and kissed the surprised fox on the cheeks, then leaned back and looked at him with a benevolent smile. "How pretty! And so adorable! My son has a much better taste in men than I do, I'm glad. What a lovely beauty!“, she cooed enthusiastically. "I said the same! He's just wonderful, isn't he.”, Sebastian said. For several minutes, the mother and son were unable to calm down because of their adoration of Ciel. Ciel was almost pouting because it was getting too much for him. When he noticed that, Sebastian sat him on the sofa and cleared his throat. "Mum, this is Ciel about whom I wrote to you. Well, his real name is Astre, but I'm still not used to calling him that. Ciel, this is Berenice, my mother.“, Sebastian explained. "I'm happy to meet you, petit cher.", Berenice said. Her gaze wandered to Ciel's ears and tail, but for now she asked no questions about it.

Instead, she turned to Sebastian and squished his cheek. "So, I have to say, you have developed quite well since I left. Nice house, new job, cute boyfriend. It was really time for me to visit you again, I thought so as soon as I got that mail from you. And I did it at the perfect time, I'm really happy about that.”, she said cheerfully. Sebastian cocked his head questioningly. "At the perfect time?", he asked, irritated. Berenice frowned and put her hands on her hips. With a sigh, she shook her head. "It sounds like you to forget something like that. You don't know what day tomorrow is, do you?”, she asked. Sebastian thought for a moment. "June the 6th?", he asked confused. Berenice rolled her eyes. "Really, Bastian, tomorrow is your birthday. Your thirtieth birthday, too, a rounded number.”, she explained. Ciel immediately jumped up and rabbed onto Sebastian's arm. "Its your birthday?! Why didn't you tell me! Now I had no time to get a present for you!“, he complained. "I'm sorry, I really forgot. But you don’t have to give me anything, you yourself are more than enough of a gift for me.”, Sebastian tried to calm him down when the doorbell rang again.

Sebastian groaned in frustration, went to the front door, opened it and asked: "What?!" William blinked irritated. "Oh, it's you.", Sebastian said and let him in. "Yeah, um, I'm here to pick up pictures again.", Will said, still confused. “They're all still upstairs, but they're done. Follow me.”, Sebastian said and led him towards the stairs to the first floor. The way led through the living room and William stopped in amazement when he saw Berenice. She was touching one of Ciel's ears very carefully, as if it could break, but looked up when she noticed that Sebastian had come back. William looked back and forth between Berenice and Sebastian. "That's why she seemed so familiar to us.", he murmured, amazed at the resemblance. While Sebastian introduced Berenice and William to each other, Ciel went up to Will, stood up on his tiptoes in front of him and gently patted William on the head, like Grell sometimes did. "Hello, William.", he said. William's attention was immediately on the fox and he returned the gesture. "Hello, Ciel.", he said, and a minimal smile crossed his face.

Sebastian cleared his throat. "Well, the pictures...", he said. William looked up at him and Ciel went to him and took Sebastian's hand. "Oh, right.", William murmured and let Sebastian lead him to the room on the first floor, which was actually one of two guest rooms, but which Sebastian had declared to be his studio. Paints, brushes and other painting utensils were stacked on a shelf, his easel and a stool stood in the middle of the room and several canvases leaned against the walls. Sebastian hadn't painted anything lately that wasn't at least related to Ciel. Berenice and William were very impressed when they walked around the room and looked at the pictures. There you could see the willow in the forest, the stream in which they had been fishing, the fallen tree on which they had been sitting, once alone and once with an angel-like figure standing on it, looking around at the viewer of the picture and having an astonishing resemblance with Ciel. Many of the pictures showed different versions of Ciel. Whether he was lying on the grass or sitting in an armchair and reading a book, sometimes Sebastian had painted clothes like those of a Victorian lord's son onto him or Ciel was standing in the forest with his tail and ears clearly visible, looking like a mysterious forest creature or whether he was simply lounging on any surface and looking like an angel, Ciel was everywhere and looked fantastic. The fox was a remarkable model.

William stared at the pictures overwhelmed. "This is... you... So... wow...", he stuttered. His eyes flicked to the picture of the sleeping Ciel that Sebastian hadn't wanted to give away that was hanging on the wall. "But is it okay if I sell these here?", he asked. "If it's okay for Ciel, then it will yes.", Sebastian replied and Ciel nodded. While helping William pack the pictures and load them into his car, Berenice told William about Sebastian's birthday. He was as surprised as Sebastian and Ciel and assured Berenice that he and Grell would come to celebrate.


	43. Sebastian's Birthday

When Sebastian came into the kitchen the next morning, his first impulse was to turn around and walk away again. But in the midst of the chaos of scattered cooking utensils and ingredients, Ciel stood,his face and clothes full of flour, so he did the opposite. Berenice was frantically skipping through a cookbook when her son made his way into the kitchen and lifted Ciel into his arms. "Good morning.", he said, wiping the embarrassed fox's face clean. Berenice winced. "Uh... yes, good morning... sorry, but... I'm afraid you're the only one in this family who can bake well.", she murmured, looking down at the floor. Sebastian sighed and kissed Ciel on the forehead. "It's okay.", he said, but Berenice shook her head. "No, we wanted to bake a birthday cake for you. But it won't work somehow.”, she said and sighed. "I'm going to make coffee first and tidy up a bit here, then we'll try again.", she said. Sebastian hugged Ciel closer. "Be careful with the coffee, okay?", he said, carrying Ciel away.

Berenice didn't seem to have heard the warning. She left her cup standing around while cleaning the kitchen. When Ciel came out of the bedroom, where Sebastian had helped him clean himself and put on his tea shirt and shorts, he immediately grabbed the cup and had already taken several sips before Sebastian took it away from him. Ciel held Sebastian's hand in both of his hands and tirelessly hopped up and down while Sebastian explained to his mother how to bake a cake. In the end, the chocolate cake was all nice and ready and Ciel wrote “Happy Birthday” on it with food coloring. They were just finished when the doorbell rang. Ciel ran over and opened the door for Grell and William. The two had barely come inside when Ciel threw himself at Grell and hugged her with all his strength. "Ha! This time I was faster than you!”, he shouted triumphantly. "Hi, Ciel.", William said, patting Ciel's head and ignoring Grell's astonishment. "Hi, William.", Ciel replied, patting William on the cheek because he didn't manage to reach his head. Then he detached himself from Grell and ran to Sebastian, who lifted him up and carried him around on one of his arms while he greeted the two and introduced Grell to his mother.

Shortly afterwards the whole Tanaka family arrived and Sebastian found himself in the middle of a group hug. Everyone chatted happily while they made their way to the veranda, where Berenice had already set the table. For the first time in many years, Happy Birthday was sung for Sebastian. He found it a little awkward, but somehow it was touching. He couldn't remember the last time there was a birthday party for him. In silence, he watched his friends and family, who surrounded him and chatted, laughing as they ate cakes. As always, Ciel was sitting on Sebastian's lap. He took turns pushing a fork full of cake into Sebastian's and his own mouth. Despite everything, the cake tasted wonderful.

After the cake was eaten, everyone stacked their presents in front of Sebastian and he was asked to unpack them. The first gift box contained a carved wooden keychain in the shape of a fox given to him by Bard, along with an envelope full of cherry tree seeds from Finny. The two had discussed their gifts and packed them together. Sebastian thanked the two and immediately attached the key chain to his car key before opening the next gift. It came from Meyrin, she had been walking around the city with Snake and the two had seen a selection of items with fox motifs in a shop and immediately thought of Sebastian and Ciel. Meyrin's gift was a hairbrush with the drawing of a red fox on the back of the brush head. Sebastian immediately tried it out on Ciel's tail. Then he unwrapped Snake's gift and started laughing when he found it was a red beret with felt fox ears sewn onto it.

From Tanaka, Sebastian got something simple but practical as always, namely a voucher for his favorite café. Sebastian whispered to Ciel that he would take him on a date there while Grell passed her and William's gift across the table. The two of them had gone to Grell's favourite drugstore and had filled a bag with bath bombs that not only smelled good, but also produced foam and also colored the water in different colors. Ciel was already looking forward to trying it. Finally Berenice presented her gift. In the narrow box she gave Sebastian was a choker and a bracelet, both black and velvety, each with a silver pentagram pendant with a purple stone in the middle. Sebastian thanked everyone warmly for the presents.

After eating cake and the opening presents they played many different games. Whenever it was games that involved physical skill or intelligence, Ciel won immediately. He defeated everyone in tag and twister and cards. If he wasn't familiar with something, he couldn't deal with it at all though. When they played Monopoly, he was sitting on Sebastian's lap, completely confused. When everyone was finally tired, they started to just sit around in the grass and tell each other stories. Sebastian brushed Ciel's tail with the new brush, while William taught Ciel how to do braids on Grell's hair. It was almost evening when everyone said goodbye. Only Berenice stayed in the house, she had temporarily moved into the guest room and retired there to pack her things because she would be leaving again the next day.

Sebastian ended the evening by taking Ciel to the bathroom and to take a hot bath with him. Ciel looked through the whole bag provided by Grell and William and sniffed all the bath bombs until he finally chose a black one that smelled of roses. The two knelt down beside the bathtub. "Now watch this.", Sebastian said and dropped the bomb into the full tub. Immediately, it started spinning in the water and slowly dissolved, slowly turning the water black. The colour spread like a cloud in the bathtub until it looked as if it was filled with black goo instead of water. Ciel watched with pricked ears and wide eyes. "Wow!", he cried, he couldn't form more words out of excitement. Sebastian struggled to take Ciel's clothes off before the fox climbed into the tub. Finally, they let themselves sink into the fragrant, black water. As always, Sebastian leaned his back against the edge of the bath tub and let Ciel, who leaned backwards against his chest, sit between his legs. Ciel was completely fascinated by the bath. They spent quite some time before Sebastian finally suggested going to bed and to his surprise, Ciel didn't mind it at all. On the contrary, he was almost in a hurry to get into the bedroom. As soon as Sebastian had dried him completely, he left the bathroom. It took Sebastian a while to dry himself, then he wrapped a towel around his hips and went to the bedroom.

He expected to see Ciel curled up in bed, but he was wrong. Astonished, Sebastian stopped just a few steps away from Ciel and soaked up the sight in front of him with his gaze. Ciel wore a pair of white silk stockings that nestled tightly to his beautiful, slender legs and reached up to the thighs, where they were fastened with a white lace garter belt. Ciel also wore white silk panties and a considerable amount of white velvet ribbon bows. One bow was tied around the middle of his tail, which was very fluffy from washing and blow-drying. One bow was tied around Ciel's narrow waist, one around each of his wrists and one around his neck. Ciel looked beautiful and his outfit suited him incredibly good. He blushed slightly when Sebastian stared at him in awe. Slowly Ciel walked up to Sebastian, stood up on his tiptoes in front of him and placed his hands on Sebastian's shoulders. "Happy birthday, Sebastian. I love you.”, he said, closing his eyes and pursing his pretty pink lips for a kiss. Sebastian immediately pressed his mouth to Ciel's. His arms wrapped around Ciel as if by themselves, he lifted him up and carried him to the bed.

"Oh baby. You are so good to me. I love you too, my beautiful fox.”, Sebastian replied. He sat Ciel down on the edge of the bed and knelt down on the floor in front of him. His hands brushed over Ciel's thighs as his gaze wandered all over his body. "Do you like it?", Ciel asked shyly. His cheeks were red and a small smile graced his lips. "Yes, so much. Where did you get all of this?”, Sebastian wanted to know. He took one end of the bow around Ciel's waist and pulled it very slowly so the bow came loose in slow motion. "Grell gave me a box just before she left and whispered how I should put it all on.", Ciel explained. His little hands ran up Sebastian's shoulders to his cheeks and he leaned over to cover Sebastian's face in kisses. Sebastian closed his eyes and enjoyed it.

Finally, Ciel released his lips from his skin and leaned back until he was lying on the mattress. "Come to me. Take me. We can try out anything you want.“, Ciel whispered while Sebastian kissed a trail over Ciel's stomach and chest and climbed onto the bed to him. "How do you manage to be so cute and sexy at the same time? I want to try out whatever you want to try.”, Sebastian replied. Ciel considered briefly whether he could think of anything he wanted. When he got an idea, he blushed. He crawled a little further back to be in the middle of the bed and sat up. "So... there was something I was thinking about... But I don't know if it isn't... Too dirty.", Ciel murmured sheepishly. Sebastian was surprised by these words. He hadn't thought Ciel would want anything kinky, but he wasn't going to deny him anything. He gently kissed Ciel on the temple and placed his hands on Ciel's hips. "Just tell me, baby. It's okay.”, he replied. Ciel was as red as a tomato and didn't dare to look Sebastian in the eye as he stammered his request. "Well, I noticed... how much I like it when you're a little more dominant to me when we... you know. And that's why I got the thought... What if... if you take me from behind. So, if I were on all fours and you... Wah, that's too kinky, isn't it?", Ciel stuttered and hid his face behind his hands.

Sebastian almost started to laugh, but he could hold it back. Instead, he gently took Ciel's hands into his own and pulled them from his face. "Oh baby, that sounds good. You don't have to be ashamed no matter what you suggest. If you want something, you just have to tell me. Let's try that out.”, Sebastian explained, leaning his forehead against Ciel's. Ciel chewed on his lower lip and nodded. He was as cute as he was shy. Sebastian kissed him throughfully and tore apart Ciel's panties. He just threw them over his shoulder and then did the same with his towel. He kissed Ciel, letting his tongue explore Ciel's mouth, and moving his hands over Ciel's body, as he knew they both liked. When he massaged Ciel's nipples, the fox forgot his insecurity and couldn't help moaning.

He enjoyed it when Sebastian flipped him over and positioned him on his hands and knees. "If you don't like it, just let me know.", Sebastian whispered into his ear, closed his lips around the tip of it and pulled gently. Ciel giggled and excitedly dug his claws into the bedsheet under him. The next moment the giggle was replaced by a moan as Sebastian slowly pushed his hard cock into him. Ciel leaned back his head and rolled back his eyes in total bliss. Sebastian held him by the hips and started slowly pulling himself out of Ciel and then thrusting him back into him at a slow pace. It didn't take long for him to find the right angle to make Ciel see stars as he hit his sweet spot. Ciel moaned louder and winced when Sebastian hit the spot. "Harder", he begged and, as requested, Sebastian thrusted into him harder. Ciel closed his eyes, the expression on his face showed absolute pleasure. "Oh, Sebastian!", he cried, moaning as Sebastian repeated the movement. Sebastian accelerated his pace and pushed faster and harder, accidentally pushing Ciel's whole body forward every time. After a while Sebastian wrapped one arm around Ciel's waist, the other around his shoulders, and raised his torso until he leaned backwards against Sebastian's chest. He kissed Ciel on the neck and kept thrusting into him, whispering into Ciel's ear how good it felt to take him. As if by himself, Ciel's now free hands moved to his own erection and he pumped his cock rhythmically with Sebastian's thrusts until his moan grew louder. "Sebastian!", he shouted, opening his eyes wide and spilling his cum at the same time as Sebastian did.

Exhausted, he slumped forwards and let Sebastian's strong arms hold him. Sebastian gently lowered Ciel onto the bed and laid him on his stomach there, laying himself on top of him and then rolling them both to the side so he didn't crush Ciel with his weight. He did not pull his cock out of Ciel's body but stayed closely cuddled to Ciel, his arms still tight around Ciel. The fox used Sebastian's right biceps as a pillow and let his eyes drop closed. His chest rose and fell rapidly and a smile graced his face. He took Sebastian's left hand into his own hands and placed it on his chest, where he held it. His pulse was racing under Sebastian's palm. "I love you so much.", Ciel murmured, tired but happy. "And I love you, my fox.", Sebastian replied, pressing his face to Ciel's neck.


	44. photo album

Sebastian drove his mother to the airport early in the morning. Ciel was too tired to come with them, so he said goodbye to Berenice before they left, kissed Sebastian on the cheek, and went back to bed. On the way back from the airport Sebastian made a short detour, then he drove home. Ciel was awake by now. He had put on one of Sebastian's white shirts and was sneaking along the edge of the forest, watching a squirrel in the trees. Sebastian decided not to disturb him for now and went to the kitchen. Some time later, he finished baking and set everything up on the table on the veranda. Now only his fox was missing.

Sebastian walked to the tree on the edge of the forest in which the squirrel was sitting and on which Ciel was trying to climb up. So far, however, he had only made it to the lowest branch, his eyes fixed on the squirrel. He didn't seem to notice Sebastian until he placed his hand on Ciel's ankle. Ciel flinched and looked down at Sebastian, who smiled at him. "Don't worry, little one, I don't want to hurt you.", Sebastian assured him, even though Ciel had already calmed down again. He spread his arms and Ciel let himself drop down and get caught by him. Sebastian gave him a kiss on the forehead and carried him to the table bridal style, where he then sat down with Ciel on his lap. Ciel pricked up his ears attentively and let his gaze wander over the photo album that had been on Sebastian's bedside table until now, the envelope full of photos and the tray with two cups of tea and a plate on which chocolate chip cookies were piled up, as well as Ciel's tin box and the small box that Berenice had given Sebastian.

"I thought I could print out the photos that I gathered since you came to me and we could add a little to my photo album.", Sebastian said, looking at Ciel in question and holding out one of the cookies to him. Ciel snatched it from Sebastian's hand, his teeth brushed Sebastian's fingers, and chewed it contentedly as he snuggled closer to Sebastian. "That is a really good idea.", he murmured happily and took the envelope with the photos while Sebastian opened the photo album and flipped through it until he had passed all pages with photos and reached the empty part of the album. Meanwhile, Ciel picked out the very first photo.

The first photo showed Ciel wrapped in a huge towel, his tail extra fluffy and a pout on his face, the second photo also showed him, but in this case quite relaxed, in this picture he slept on Sebastian's bed, dressed in Sebastian's shirt. Sebastian stuck the two photos next to each other on one side. "I remember when you put me in a bath for the first time. I was really startled, you idiot.“, Ciel complained and took another cookie. Sebastian stuck his nose into Ciel's hair. "I know. I'm sorry.”, he murmured to him, rubbing his nose against Ciel's head, which made the fox more forgiving. "That's fine. Now I like baths, you know that.”, he replied and smiled.

Next Sebastian glued in a piece of paper instead of a photo. On it was a fairly precise sketch of Ciel's face and next to it a less skillfull drawing of Sebastian. "Oh yes, I still remember. We drew these when it rained. I was really annoyed because it looked as if you were going to play with me, but then William called and you just started drawing again instead of paying attention to me.”, Ciel explained. Sebastian couldn't help laughing. "You are so cute!", he called and kissed Ciel, who then blushed, on the cheek.

The next picture that Sebastian glued in was also a sketch, this time it showed Ciel, who was hunting fish in the stream. That day Sebastian hadn't had his phone with him to take a picture, but he had quickly made this sketch afterwards. "Do you remember when we fished? It was a nice day.”, he murmured while he was busy with the glue. Ciel nodded and took a leaf from the willow in which he used to live from his tin box. "Of course I know that. I showed you my former burrow. It meant a lot to me that you wanted to see it and know more about me.“, Ciel explained while he was gluing the leaf next to the sketch. "There you got a first glimpse of where I came from. Not just related to the tree.”, he added, took the picture of his mother that had been in the box too and also added it. Sebastian watched Ciel's expression all the while. "It meant a lot to you that I wanted to know more about you? Oh baby, it meant a lot to me that you let me know more about you.”, he said and hugged Ciel closer.

Ciel kissed him on the cheek and got up. “That same day, I met Grell and William for the first time. I was very confused when they showed up so suddenly and found very strange at the beginning, but you were so relaxed around them that I thought it was all right. And even if not, you'd still be there to protect me.”, Ciel said as he went to the grass and picked a daisy from where they had been laying after Grell and Will had left. He went back to Sebastian, sat down on his lap and glued the daisy into the photo album.

Sebastian smiled. "I remember that. And that day I thought about buying your own clothes.”, he said and Ciel nodded and took the other photo, which showed the younger Sebastian with his parents, out of his box and stuck it into the album. "Exactly. You put me into the clothes from the attic and we drove into the city.“, he added. Sebastian nodded and laughed. "Yes, that's right. It was kind of fun although it was also a bit exhausting.”, he said, rummaged through the things and found the receipts from their shopping trip, which he also added. Next came a normal photo again. It showed the two of them lying on the floor in Grell's shop kissing just before the two had realized that Grell had come in and seen them.

While Sebastian was still gluing this picture in, Ciel took the next one out of the envelope and frowned. "When did you make that?", he asked irritated. Sebastian looked at the photo. “Right the next morning when Grell sent me this photo here. You look so cute when you sleep wrapped in the blankets, I just couldn't resist.”, Sebastian explained a bit embarrassed. Ciel blushed, pouted, and handed him the photo. "When I'm sleeping you shouldn't take pictures of me but cuddle me.", he complained. Sebastian absolutely had to kiss him before gluing down the photo. "That morning I thought about wanting us to be a couple.", Sebastian admitted after a while. Ciel rubbed his head on Sebastian's shoulder. "Why didn't you ask me if I want that?", he wanted to know. "You didn't speak yet and when we visited the horses a few hours later and you spoke for the first time, I didn't think about it anymore. Besides, you only said my name in the beginning anyway.”, Sebastian explained.

Ciel sighed and took out the next photo. It showed them sitting on the sofa with William and Grell. Grell hugged Ciel enthusiastically while Sebastian and William watched that from the sides. "You see? After a short time, your name was no longer the only word I could say. And besides, I could just have nodded.“, Ciel insisted and passed the photo on to Sebastian, who had to grin when he saw it. "Grell quickly became your second biggest fan.", he muttered as he taped it in. Ciel looked at him, his head cocked in question. "Well, I'm still your biggest fan.", Sebastian clarified and kissed him again. Then he took the next picture out of the envelope, which was the selfie of the two on the hood of Sebastian's car.

"See?", he added and got the next photo. It showed the two in the middle of the strawberry field. Sebastian was lying on the floor, his head resting on Ciel's lap, Ciel's tail over his chest as he looked up at Ciel, who was leaning over him. "Wow, we both look really happy on it. Especially given that we only found out about what had happened to you a short time before.”, Sebastian murmured thoughtfully when he looked at the picture. Ciel nodded in satisfaction. "I told you that you looked happy that day. You look happy on each of these photos.”, he proudly explained.

Sebastian took the few remaining pictures out of the envelope to see if Ciel was right, and really he looked happy on every picture. This did not surprise him though since he had Ciel with him in every picture. They still had two pictures from the day they visited the Tanaka family on their farm, one showed Sebastian with Ciel on his lap, the other the two together with the family. Then there was a picture taken at Sebastian's birthday party while they were all sitting in the grass together. Sebastian hadn't noticed that Meyrin had photographed him, Ciel and Berenice, but she had sent him the picture this morning.

While Sebastian glued all these pictures in, Ciel fished the last one out of the envelope. "This slipped out of your hand earlier.", he said, holding it out to Sebastian. It was the selfie of the two cuddled up in bed that Sebastian had sent to Grell when she wanted to know how they were doing. Sebastian looked at the photo a little longer after gluing it in. "There are still so many blank pages in the album.", Ciel murmured. Sebastian took the present from his mother, that was lying next to Ciel's tin box, attached the bracelet to his left wrist and the choker to Ciel's neck, then he wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Our life isen't over yet.", he replied, pressing a tender kiss on Ciel's lips. "I love you, Sebastian.", Ciel whispered as they broke apart for a moment. "And I love you, my fox.", Sebastian replied and kissed him again.


End file.
